The Son of Two
by BaBeSgIrL
Summary: Response to AlphaLycan2001 challenge:Harry Potter thought he was done with prophecy and destiny when he defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort, but he was wrong. He'll meet his real parents, find out he's not alone and has family besides the Dursleys, but don't worry Sirius and Remus are coming along. Will contain mild slash. Rated M for violence.
1. Prologue

_Quick note: This is my first story and I really don't know too much about writing Harry Potter or Percy Jackson fanfiction because they belong to J. K. Rowling and Rick Riordan respectively. I would like a LOT of feedback because I want to write this for fun but I need to know how everyone else thinks the flow of the story is going. I appreciate any criticism but haters can keep hating. Again I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson because there is so many things I would change if I did, but that's not me hating on the stories I love the Harry Potter books and was able to read all of them, even though it was a while ago, and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was a great book. I unfortunately didn't get to read the rest of the series yet and won't for some time._

_This is actually in response to a challenge by AlphaLycan2001. I was reading it and thought "Man, I want to write a story like that!" this is just the Prologue for now because depending on what everyone thinks I may just write my own story later. I want to Thank AlphaLycan2001 for the prompt it made me want to write this. So don't forget to reply. I have already had to do some major revision to the chapter by including the challenge in the beginning and all the grammatical mistakes in the Prologue. I am so sorry to my readers who had to put up with my writing when I was low on caffeine and mostly on my way to comatose. Like I said I have included the challenge rules so here they are:_

**_Challenge: A Harry Potter/Percy Jackson (or Heroes of Olympus_**

**_Plot:_**_Gods are divine beings with extraordinary powers, born from the union between two members of the same pantheon but sometimes, just sometimes, the members of two different pantheons come together and produce a child. These children are known as Transcendent Demigods and Harry Potter happens to be one such Transcendent Demigod._

**_Rules:_**

_Light or Grey Harry._

_The reason for Harry being a Transcendent Demigod is that he is the child of deities from two different pantheons._

_Harry's first god-parent MUST be one of the Greek/Roman Mythological forces: gods, deities, divines etc._

_Whoever Harry's god-parent is MUST break the law and talk/interact/meet with Harry._

_Harry must be betrayed by Ron and Hermione at some point or the other._

_Sirius and Remus do not abandon him._

_Dumbledore may be anything from a blind idealist to a manipulative chessmaster and anything in between, but he is not and never will be dark and/or evil._

_Harry as a Transcendent Demigod has no true limits on his powers that he does have and can therefore potentially become as strong or even stronger than the Primordial Gods, but the downside is that he ages at the same rate as a human and must work to develop his powers, they will not come to him naturally as they do to the gods although he may temporarily access a hidden reserve of power in times of great need and distress. Also he may never develop powers outside of those he inherits from his divine parents, unless it has to do with magic. Example: As the son of a Fire God and Earth Goddess he can never control water unless it's a spell of some sort._

_Harry becomes immortal once his powers develop to a certain point but not before that, when is up to you._

_Powerful Harry_

_Intelligent Harry_

_Driven Harry_

_Harry may not be bound by the Ancient Laws at any point whatsoever._

_Cover Image: I don't care what the image is. It can be a picture of Harry or a plain white sheet with the title written on it just have a cover image._

**_Guidelines:_**

_Immortal Harry_

_Harry may possess the generic abilities of a god, telepathy, superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, energy manipulation, teleportation etc:_

_Master/Champion of Death Harry: This particular guideline can mean that Harry is Master/Champion of Thanatos or the Death God of any pantheon but it can also mean that he is the Master/Champion of the literal embodiment of Death itself a being above and beyond any pantheon:_

_James was a god in human form_

_Lily was a god in human form:_

_Other people of the HP universe are demigods:_

_Slash:_

_Ron and/or Hermione may eventually redeem themselves:_

_Female Percy paired with Harry:_

_Kane Chronicles Crossover:_

_If you wish you can make it so that Harry is a Transcendent Demigod by making him the son of the Roman aspect of one god/goddess and the Greek aspect of another god/goddess:_

**_Forbidden:_**

_Harry being naive, weak, foolish and unmotivated._

_Voldemort, Kronos and Gaia as allies of Harry._

_Sirius and Remus abandoning Harry._

_Dark or Evil Harry._

_Neither of Harry's God parents can be Aztec. In fact no Aztec mythological and religious elements on the story period, because the aforementioned subjects are quite frankly horrifying, example: for the Aztecs, skeletal imagery was a symbol health, fertility and abundance. If you don't find that creepy then you deserve to be locked up in a mental asylum._

_Author Note: The challenge from AlphaLycan2001 has been altered from it's original concept, so I went ahead and updated it here on Nov 17th._

The Son of Two

Prologue

In an uncharted location in Scotland, only known to those special few, sits an old castle. This castle was once a great place of learning that has been host to great minds. The once glorious monolith now shows the wear and tear of recent battle, with broken battlements and the scattered masonry of its once strong walls. In all it is a sad sight to look upon this day. Those few that loiter now seem lost, for how does one go about cleaning up a battlefield, and picking up the pieces of their broken lives? The expressions aging their faces are those of immeasurable sorrow.

Long after night has fallen. In the walls of the battered castle on a small bed rest the figure of a Savior. In truth it is the figure of a boy who was a man long before he was a child. The expectations of an entire world can be a weighty thing, and perhaps if the boy could tell his woe to the Titan Atlas he would commiserate. Such expectations are great and terrible things that boil the seas and shake the earth, and give men the power of gods or cause profound despair. Prophesy is the expectation of which the young man found himself the bearer of.

He was prophesied the slayer of his foe and that day finally came, and he was victorious! Oh what immense joy should be felt on this day, feasts and celebrations for weeks, even months? But how could one celebrate when the life of the Hero is still in dire peril?

*Break*

Harry Potter was slowly coming back to consciousness. His mind felt like it was swimming through molasses but he was becoming aware of his surroundings. The first things he noticed were the odd feeling of sitting up and the fact he didn't hear anyone. He was sure the last thing he remembered was the battle at Hogwarts and defeating Voldemort but nothing after that. 'I probably fainted,' he thought, 'but then I should be in the hospital wing. Why am I sitting up instead of lying in bed?'

Slowly he opened his eyes, having to blink a few times due to the light but it wasn't harsh. He was soon able to see that he wasn't anywhere he remembered. It was a place that looked like a family library or study perhaps. His gaze found six strong oak bookshelves with a myriad of books. The plush wingback chair he sat in was soft brown leather and faced a somewhat daunting fireplace. The pitch black marble fireplace had beautiful depictions of angels on either side but they seemed better suited for a graveyard. Even though the flames of the low fire were warm it still put Harry ill at ease. The carpet under his feet that was the color of rich, red wine was plush and warm. The rest of the seating including a small settee and another wingback chair were placed around the fireplace as well.

Lost in his perusal of the room he didn't notice when he spoke out loud. "Where am I, because this is defiantly _not_ Hogwarts?"

Suddenly a kind musical voice spoke, "Well…technically you would be nowhere, and yet everywhere."

Harry will never admit it to anyone not present at that time, but he jumped. He jumped with enough force to move the chair as he wiped his head around to search for the source of the voice. He was almost completely turned around when he saw the source of the voice, more specifically her because there was no mistaking the ample curves of the figure from only five feet away. It took a minute for him to take in the woman. She wore a black dress that was knee length with sleeved puffed out at the shoulders that ended in ruffled cuffs at the wrist. Thick, white hair cascaded down her back and past the hem of her dress to mid-calf. In contrast to her ivory locks, her face held an ageless quality. When Harry finally looked at her eyes his heart stopped and his breathing ceased. Unlike the rest of her that seemed out of time and somewhat unnatural her eyes where green, but not just any green. It was the same green as the eyes that stared back at Harry every time he looked in the mirror.

"Who are you?" Harry was a little surprised he had the breath to ask his question, but was happy that his body seemed to remember how to breathe as he spoke.

A small and gentile smile pulled at the woman's full lips as she gazed softly at Harry. "Don't you know me already Master? I am Death."

_Author Note: Thanks to my readers, and please tell me how I did. I'm sorry for the cliff hanger. For those that are like "What this story isn't about mythological gods." I reply "Well, not yet!" Chapter one will be more in-depth about what's actually happened before Death whisked Harry away to some unknown place, and the mythology stuff will come in then. This is currently un-betaed so if anyone could help a writer out by volunteering, I would send out air hugs every day :) I also have to warn everyone that this is a work in progress and chapter uploading will be random._


	2. Chapter 1

_Author Note: I love the input from the reviews and I would like to apologize to the readers that thought the Prologue was too short. I did make it short on purpose, I was simply giving a tantalizing setup to the story. This story is a work in progress and I can say that it took me a lot__more time to write the first chapter than I thought. I hope the length of Chapter 1 makes up for my Prologue and that everyone will like it just as much._

_I would like to say that all characters that are recognizable are not mine. The Harry Potter book series are fictional works created by J. K. Rowling and the Percy Jackson book series are fictional works created by Rick Riordan. The rest of the content in this story I will be getting from research and talking to my friends. I can only take responsibility for the plot of this story and any original character that will take part as cannon fodder or because I need them for the story._

_The timeline of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson was moved up. My story takes place in present time (so 2014). Now Harry was born on July 31, 1997 making him 17 and Percy will have been born in 1998 making him 16 in this story like in the movie. The ages of the other characters will also be like the movies._

_So once again this is rated M for violence and will contain mild slash context._

_"Blah." = normal speach_

_'Blah.' = thoughts_

_italicized "Blah." = beast speach_

_Now on with the show!_

**The Son of Two**

**Chapter 1**

**Part 1 – What Life Hath Wrought**

Death, the woman's last word echoed in Harry's head. Harry wouldn't normally classify himself as a pessimist but in that moment an errant thought crossed his mind.

"It figures," he sighed and leaned back in his chair. Harry knew the probability of the woman in front of him lying, was small. He had already taken the chance to calculate it. The war with Voldemort had just ended, so if she were a witch she would either (1) be trying to kill him, or (2) singing his praises. He was thanking his lucky stars she wasn't a witch of the latter group. Though she wasn't a mundane either, sure he had seen some eccentric "muggles" in his time. She could have been one of them but he could feel something that told him differently, powerful energy filled the room and Harry knew in his gut it was coming from the woman. Albus Dumbledore had had the same kind of presence, a grandfatherly energy that would permeate a room and put others at ease or on edge depending on that persons standing with the old wizard. Even in death, he didn't lose that commanding presence.

Harry felt the pang in his chest that had inhabited his heart since his mentor's passing. Though he now knew of Dumbledore's role in his life and accepted that the elder's actions were pure of heart. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, but in the end Dumbledore was the only one who cared enough to even try. Any other wizard would have run at the first chance.

Harry's thoughts continued to run rampant. When he thought of cowardly wizards, Ron Weasley's face flashed in his mind's eye. Ron was Harry's first friend and one of the first to turn his back on Harry time and time again. First the "Heir of Slytherin" fiasco, then the "Triwizard Tournament" and last his jealousy drove him to abandon Harry and Hermione in the woods with Death Eaters hunting them. Ron's one redeeming quality at those times was he was always there when it counted, because he always came back.

Harry might be angry with Ron for his betraying their friendship, but he knew that as fast as he was to anger he would be as fast to forgive his friend. He did not know if he could forgive Hermione as easily for silently betraying his trust all this time. Harry had wondered once why Hermione had never gotten scared and run like Ron and his answer came at the end of their fourth year.

*Flashback*

Harry was under his invisibility cloak with the Marauder's Map going to Dumbledore's office. He was aware that it was after curfew but he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he was back in the graveyard watching Cedric die. Hoping that talking to an adult would help and because of his trust in Dumbledore he was going to speak to him. He turned the corner to the hall containing the entrance to the Headmaster's office. As he approached the entrance he looked down at the map and noticed something odd, he saw the old wizard heading to the door but there was someone else with him. The next second the stone gargoyle Harry stopped in front of moved revealing Hermione exiting. Looking more frazzled than usual with her hair in extraordinary disarray, and Dumbledore following behind her. Harry dodged back out of the way, leaving the other two none the wiser of his presence.

"I know that I should stay calm for Harry's sake and wait for him to come to us, but he keeps drifting father away, sir." Hermione's tone was beseeching the wizard to listen to her. "He never eats enough and doesn't talk about what happened any more. I'm so worried, Headmaster. Can you help him?"

Dumbledore placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort the distressed girl. "I understand your concern my dear, but we must give Harry the time he needs to come to terms with what he saw. I will be here to help him when he is ready, I can assure you. In the mean time you should continue to be a good friend to him. I'm counting on you to keep me informed in case something should happen."

She nodded in agreement, "Of course."

"Then you should get some rest. Tomorrow is a new day." His words were a clear dismissal. Hermione knew she couldn't get anything else from the man tonight and bid him good evening.

Harry stood in stricken silence as he watched her disappear. His eyes drifted back to Dumbledore, as he turned to walk back to his office, the elder wizard released an exhausted sigh that seeming to age him more in that instant. Dumbledore's solemn words wafted on the wind to Harry's ears. "I am so sorry children, but your sorrows have just begun."

*End Flashback*

After that day it wasn't hard to see that Hermione would go to Dumbledore behind Harry's back. He understood she did it because she cared. In hindsight it probably saved him more than a few times. He also started to see why it always appeared Dumbledore knew everything even things he should not.

The fact that Sirius is still alive is because Hermione informed Dumbledore about the raid on the Ministry. Sirius showed up acting like an over protective mother dog and started attacking everyone who threatened his pup. Then the fight got to the Veil room and Bellatrix Lestrange in all her deranged glory aimed the killing curse at Sirius. Harry just knew he would lose his godfather that day, when suddenly like a streak of red lightning Fawkes dove for Sirius lifting him into the air and out of harm's way. Later after recovering Harry took the chance to thank Dumbledore for sending the phoenix.

The battle did not end well though when the Aurors arrested Sirius on site and took him to a cell in the Ministry. Thankfully, while Harry was unconscious; Dumbledore was able to convince Minister Fudge that it would not look good to the public if he was found to be wrong about Voldemort's return, and convict an innocent man to death. The Ministry never having given said man a trial. With the insistence of one Amelia Bones, who found out about the grave injustice, Sirius was given a trial. Much to Fudge's chagrin and due to his confession under the effects of Veritaserum, Sirius was found innocent. As amends by the court for wrongful imprisonment without due process, and due to his status as a Lord, he was given restitution in the sum of all the wages he would have received for the last 14 years. An official public pardon was given three days after the trial and custody of his vaults was returned. Do to health issues he endured while in Azkaban Sirius was sent to St. Mungo's under a healers care until his health was as close to peak condition as it could get. Of course all hospital charges were paid for by the Ministry. It was once again Amelia Bones who spoke up about what the Ministry's reparation to Sirius Black should include. The horror on Fudge's face when Amelia stated that Sirius' medical bills should be paid for by the Ministry was priceless. Her argument stated that it was the Ministry's fault that the conditions at Azkaban were "so outstandingly deplorable" and therefore the man's ill heath was the Ministry's doing. That would have Sirius in figurative stitches any time he remembered the look on Minister Cornelius Fudge's face.

Sirius' slightly frightening cackles for the first few weeks drove some of the healers to question his mental heath as well. But Sirius was not the only one that healed after the incident at the Ministry. Remus was often found visiting Sirius because he feared the impulsive prankster would drive the healer's to drastic measures by trying to escape or causing other trouble. It was during these visits that Sirius seemed more relaxed and calm, so the healer looking after Sirius issued Remus an open invitation to visit anytime. Remus' health improved as well, his shoulder's were no longer hunched, his hair was becoming thicker and his skin was less pale. When Harry commented on this observation the day he was allowed to visit Sirius and saw Remus there, the werewolf explained that the wolf inside of him was happy that its pack was together again. Sirius was at St. Mungo's until the conflict with Voldemort got more dangerous. He was discharged six months after he was admitted and was once again sent to stay at the Black family home. His health still not being the best Remus and a young healer named Edwina (who was a member of the Order of the Phoenix) stayed with Sirius from that point on, as far as Harry knew, until the battle of Hogwarts. He hoped they were both still alright, the last time he saw them was during the fight before he defeated Voldemort.

That's when Harry realized that his thought's had wondered and the last few minutes came back to him. It was comical irony that this was not the strangest thing to happen to him. He had woken in this strange place with a possibly mentally unstable woman who claimed to be Death. As if she could read his mind and found his thoughts funny there was a tinkling giggle, like wind chimes, that came from the woman. It drew Harry's attention and he looked up to find her sitting in the opposite chair adjacent the fireplace with a placid smile still on her face.

"So I'm dead then." It was a statement and not really a question but the reply he got was unexpected.

As calmly as if talking about the weather her airy response was, "Technically not yet."

"Wait…What?"

She adjusted herself to a more comfortable position, like someone settling in to begin a long and complex tale. "You are here because it is the most comfortable place for us to have a talk. This room does not exist however; it is a fabrication of your subconscious, just like I am. You should know that Death has no true form but for the sake of familiarity, I have taken a shape you could associate with. I am telling you this because we are in my realm, a place that exists outside of time and space. I brought you here the second before your mortal body was to die. No time passes in the living realm for those that are here. I can take you back in the same second. So no, technically, you're not dead."

"Okay, I understand that. You're saying you stopped time because you wanted to have a chat, right? So why did you bring me here?"

A smug smirk pulled at Death's lips. "I knew you were a good choice for my Master. You are smarter than others give you credit for. You are here because you are more extraordinary than you ever knew. Fate came to me and told me that I would create what your people call the Deathly Hallows and that I would give them to three brothers. Fate also foretold that when the time was right my three gifts would fall into the hands of a Hero that was destined to be my champion. You inherited the Cloak of Invisibility from James Potter, claimed the Resurrection Stone in the woods and won ownership of the Elder Wand by defeating its previous wielder, making you the Master of Death. As Master of Death you now have responsibilities that are inherited with your title. Yes Harry, I know you do not want the power but please let me speak first." Her words were followed by a brief pause as she looked at Harry sternly. When he nodded she continued. "I am a force of balance between the living world and death. As a metaphysical being I have little say in the affairs of the living and even less in the affairs of the gods. When the gods decide to upset the balance I cannot stop them. Fate said that _you_ Harry would be my Master and Champion. You will be able to speak for me in the realm of the gods. I know the weight of what I ask, but I do not ask anything that you cannot do. As I said, you are greater than you know and if you accept to take responsibility and be my Master I will help you achieve your potential." Death gazed steadily into Harry's eyes. The depths to the cosmic beings eyes where vast but he could see that they showed hope that he would accept. In as much as a metaphysical being could hope Harry knew that he didn't want to let down the one in front of him, because in a way he had already accepted it as his duty.

With the alien feelings of a brother not wanting to let his sister down, beating in Harry's chest, he answered. "I can accept your request but what do you mean my potential? A wizard's majority is on his 17th birthday and I'm already seventeen. And what about my life now, I'm going to die aren't I, how can I help you in the living world if I'm dead?"

"That answer is one and the same. You are not who you think you are. You have a power lying dormant in you that you tapped into during the battle. In your time of great peril the power from your parents came forth, and you are dying because that power is too much for your body to contain any longer. You were born of two Godly parents and should rightfully be a god, but your parentage is more complicated than that. Your father was James Potter, but he was also Hermes god of Olympus, and your mother was known to everyone as Lily Evans but she was actually Thor god of Asgard. This means you are a Transcendent Demigod."

The powerful feeling of shock Harry felt had him rising from his chair like a springing frog. "What!? Alright, okay, I may have been able to believe everything else you told me, but now I _know_ you're crazy. James Potter was the son of two pureblood magicals and Lily Evans was the sister of Petunia Dursley. I know that woman is a horrible shrew and I loathe calling her family, but she _is_ my Aunt. She will tell you any day of the weak how she still hates her no good sister. That I am a terrible burden as her nephew but not once did she ever say that it wasn't true." Harry had taken a step closer to Death in his conviction but it was a terrible mistake.

A force like a bull running into him knocked him back into his chair and forced the air from his lungs. He gazed at the visage of Death as she rose from her chair. Her face was dark with anger and her hair rose around her, caught by an invisible wind. His fear of her in that moment sent ice flowing through his veins. Her voice when she spoke did not change from its melodious quality but there was steel in her tone that would force even the dead to take head of her words.

"Listen to me young godling! I have existed long before this Universe sought to stretch out from the primordial darkness, and I will exist long after it has been wiped out. I am Death! Death is many things. I can be cold and brisk, swift and cunning, but I am always fair and just. I uphold the cosmic balance that is the very fabric of life and death. I am a force for justice and truth. You will not call me a liar!"

While she continued the force that had pushed Harry into his chair seemed to increase and now felt like it would crush his chest. The shadows cast by the fire grew longer and thicker. The invisible wind that moved her hair before now seemed to be a tempest as the ivory locks thrashed about violently.

"Yeah that was definitely a bad move, kiddo."

The sudden sound of an unknown voice was enough to make Death's anger subside into surprise. She looked at the man leaning casually arms crossed against a bookshelf to her right, who had not been there a moment ago. The man dressed in a black v-neck shirt under a crème colored jacket and grey jeans. His long dark hair was brushed back and loose ending at his shoulders. He had a shadow of a mustache and beard on his face, which held a devious smirk that complemented the spark of mischief in his eyes. Before Death could say anything he continued, "Death can't lie, so she gets a little touchy when someone calls her a liar. I've seen what happened to people before, trust me, it was not pretty. One poor shmuck was in denial big time, until Death set him straight." His voice sounded American but the accent wasn't one Harry could place.

Harry was gobsmacked when Death actually blushed at what the man had said. "Yes well, it was taking forever to convince that halfwit he was dead. There may be no sense of time in my realm but I do not suffer fools long." Death's admission had that devious smirk threatening to split the man's face in two, and his mischievous eyes gave a knowing look to Harry. "That's quite enough of that, but since you just got here I believe you should introduce yourself."

The atmosphere changed again to something a little more serious. The man straightened from the bookshelf and stepped closer to the other two until he stood behind the settee a few feet away. His face had changed. His perpetually mischievous look was still there but it was slightly apprehensive, "Hello Harry, I'm Hermes, your Dad."

Harry was in shock, for him it was one thing for a stranger to tell you that your parents weren't who you thought they were, but this was too much. This man standing in front of him was claiming to be Hermes. A fact that wasn't hard to accept because he had been talking to Death since he woke up. The problem was the fact that Hermes, a _god_, was saying he was Harry's _father_. If it was true, it was more than Harry could stand. All this time it could have been different. Harry can't delude himself into thinking it would be sunshine and daisies, but he would have had a father. He wouldn't have grown up with the Dursleys who belittled the names of his parents at every chance. He probably would have had a proper bedroom instead of sleeping in a cupboard for 9 years of his life. He would have had someone to turn to when the wizards turned on him. Harry really didn't want to think these things. He knew that sometimes people didn't have a choice. Maybe his father couldn't keep him or maybe for some strange reason he forgot about Harry. The wizards can wipe away a person's memory, maybe Hermes had been obliviated? What about his mother? Wasn't Lily supposed to have been the god Thor in disguise or something? It must have been a great disguise to be a woman, and isn't that a whole different can of worms. His _Mom_ was the Norse god of Thunder! Is his mom/Thor really dead like everyone thinks, or can a god survive the killing curse like Hermes obviously did? If it was possible his mother was alive! Harry started to feel light headed and was glad he was already sitting down.

Hermes moved to Harry's side and gripped his shoulder firmly in comfort. "I know it's a lot to take in right now. So if you'll hear me out I can explain my part of it, alright?" When he looked up he could tell that Hermes was worried about his reaction. Harry figured that if Hermes really was his father then he owed him the chance to explain, so he nodded his consent.

Hermes saw Death take her seat and decided to sit on the only open seat left. He sat hunched over, forearms resting on his thighs, fingers laced together and stared at the floor for a moment collecting his thoughts.

"James Potter was a real prankster as a kid. I'm sure that Remus and Sirius have told you that. He got it in his head that I was real and that because I was a god of sports and pranksters, he would devote his prayers to me. When he was alive he was one of my best followers. Thing was that being a prankster got him into all kinds of trouble. It wasn't until after Hogwarts, when he and Lily were trying for a kid, that he found out some of those spells cast at him in retaliation for his pranks were worse than he thought. He was hit with something that stopped him from ever having kids. This hit him hard being the Head of his family and wanting to have a family with your mother. Being his patron god the first thing he did was start asking me for help. I really wasn't in a position to help because he wasn't a demigod or my offspring so I couldn't reveal myself. Then Death caught my attention one day when I was in the "neighborhood." Death said that Fate had told her that the Master of Death was going to be the son of James Potter and my demigod son. We knew that when you took the title Master of Death it would boost the power you inherited from me, making you able to cross into the afterlife like I can, and you've already done it. When Voldemort hit you with the Killing Curse and you had a talk with Dumbledore, you took a trip into the land of the dead, just like you're doing now. Since James couldn't have children Death told me to take a page from my father's book. I took the form of James the night you were conceived." Hermes rubbed the back of his neck in a familiar gesture and gave a small apologetic smile when Harry wrinkled his nose at that part. "Yeah, I still can't listen to most of the stories about my father's exploits either. Anyway, it worked and Lily had a baby boy at the end of July. The fact that I looked like James didn't matter. You are my son, so he adopted you as his son without anyone else knowing, even your mother didn't know. You inherited my speed, quick thinking, knack for sports and flying, and penchant for finding trouble and getting out of it relatively healthy. Even your ability to talk to snakes came from me. I mean look at you, you outsmarted the darkest wizard in a century at twelve years old, and you fought a giant snake, defeated a legion of soul sucking creatures, out flew a dragon, and defeated a dark wizard army." Hermes let out a chuckle and smiled at Harry. "You are my son Harry and I've been waiting to say this for a while; I am so proud of you."

"Thanks…Dad, but uh, what about Mum or Thor?" It was a new experience for Harry to call someone "Dad" but he was starting to like it already.

"Well Loki the god of Chaos in Norse mythos, filled me in on a few things. Apparently about 37 years ago Thor pulled some stunt that Odin got mad about. The Allfather decided he would fall back on his old punishment for Thor and send him to Earth, or Midgard, as a human to learn some humility and generally get Thor out of his hair. Well Loki being there at the time thought his brother would have a better appreciation of humans if he was a woman. I know that everyone said your mother was a red head with green eyes like yours, but you really get your eyes from Death. You're the Master of Death and were born to have that power so your eyes reflect that. You might think that Thor had blonde hair and blue eyes but he was really a strawberry blonde, and your mothers eyes where an electric blue-green. When she got angry they would turn sky blue, and she had one fierce temper. Anyway, the whole time that Thor was a mortal he had no idea of his godly heritage. When Voldemort came to kill you Lily begged for you to be spared and offered her life for yours. That's powerful stuff Harry; a god doesn't just sacrifice themselves every day. Thor's power broke through and when Lily Potter died Thor gained his power and memories back. He protected you with his immortal essence but he could not stay. His essence returned to his immortal body and by then you had already been taken to the Dursleys and Odin forbid Thor from returning for you. I didn't know any of this before Loki told me a few years ago when the war with Voldemort started making waves, and I couldn't say anything because Zeus forbids all the Olympian gods from contact with their mortal children. The only reason I can talk to you now is because we are in the realm of Death and the gods of the living don't pay too much attention to what goes on here. I'm actually breaking a divine law by talking to you, so don't tell anyone." Hermes smirk was unforgiving and he sent Harry a wink.

Death took this chance to speak again, "I was going to explain to you before I lost my temper. You are truly a god in an ill-fitting mortal body, because Thor's essence was blocked when he was Lily it kept you from being born into a proper vessel. You were able to face a fully trained adult wizard and win because you inherited vast power as the son of the god of storms but your body can't contain it. There is a way to fix this however; your current body will die and as the keeper of balance I am obligated to see this happen, but where there is Death there must be Life. When Harry James Potter ceases to exist, Neo Evan Thorson can be born. The new name will signify your new life. You will be given a new body that will be created from the blood of your true parents and you will become who you were meant to be all along."

Hermes took over the explanation, "Of course Death only has power over the souls of the deceased. So for you to get a new body there are other divine powers that factor in. Life has decided to be generous to Death and will grant permission for your new body to be created. So Hecate the goddess of Magic, who has claimed you as her champion after you defeated Voldemort, will be giving you gifts. One gift she will grant you is the use of her power over magic to combine the blood of Thor and me in a ritual. This ritual was used a long time ago to provide a couple with blood offspring, when witches were less likely to live through childbirth. Originally with a group of five of the strongest magic users casting the ritual the child would be a day old infant, but Hecate said that if there is enough power to the ritual that the child will age. It's going to take a lot of power to make sure you come out a teenager. Which means Thor, Death and I will be present to lend our divine mojo."

Harry was doing a spectacular job of keeping up so far, but he caught something that had him rubbing the back of his neck nervously while he thought. "Just a second, Dad, you said "gifts" as in plural, and if performing the ritual is just _one_ gift…"

Hermes eyes shifted, "Well, I don't actually know what the other gifts will be. That's one of the things about being a messenger I don't get the entire context sometimes. Death needed Hecate to perform the ritual. As a goddess of Magic she would have a way to create life. So I delivered the request, and Hecate just mentioned that she was thankful you finally defeated Voldemort and his followers, so she was going to give you "gifts as a way to thank (her) champion." I'm pretty sure she was being vague on purpose meaning it's a surprise."

"Yes, unfortunately Hecate sometimes has the attitude of a stage magician." Harry saw as Death rolled her eyes. "She always wants to do a "big reveal" usually involving a curtain. It's ridiculous sometimes, but the poor girl rarely has people appreciating magic these days. Wizards have accepted magic as the norm in life, and they make sure to hide it away from the mundane mortals. No mortals stand in awe of knights fighting dragons, or demon slaying monks, or even a good Princess overthrowing her wicked step-mother of a Queen. There really is no one around to appreciate magic. So her attitude is understandable, _ridiculous_, but understandable." Death's tone was one of loving exasperation, but then her back straightened a little more before she continued speaking. "I think we got off topic. You have to focus now on one fact, Harry. You're going to die. Harry Potter will die at midnight and the ritual to give birth to Neo Thorson will end at that very second. To the wizarding world you will be dead, records in the ministry will record your time of death and you will be a new person. The power you hold as the Potter Heir will continue on in your knew body, and the Potter family magic will still be yours. So I think it would be prudent for you to go back in time. You will need to submit an official last will that names Neo Thorson as Harry Potter's Heir. Setup an account under your new name and have the Potter vaults, titles, properties and heirlooms all transferred to that new account. Then as Neo Thorson you will still be able to claim everything that James Potter left you as his Heir. This is important Harry; _never_ forget that after midnight Harry Potter will no longer exist. Your friends cannot know who you once were."

That realization left a cold lump in Harry's heart. "But…They're my friends. What am I suppose to do. I can't just abandon them; we went through all of this together! Please, they need to know that I'll be fine. I need to tell them that I forgive them, and that I love them like family. The Weasley's just lost Fred, and Ron and Hermione just got together. You're telling me that I can't see them get married, and I won't get to meet my godchildren? Sirius will be devastated! He and Remus were finally getting better after James and Lily died, it will kill them to lose me too. This isn't right!" Harry couldn't stop the tears that fell from his eyes. Everything that happened so far, to end like this seemed so unfair. He was going to lose everyone that he calls friend and family. His tears slowly evolved into racking sobs as Harry let all the pain of his life finally take over. He was crying for his lost friends, for the suffering of everyone around him and for those innocent people who were dragged into a war, but mostly he cried for everything that he never let himself grieve over before.

It took some time for all the sorrow to leave him empty. When he became aware of his surroundings again he noticed that Hermes and Death had moved to comfort him. Death was leaned over the arm of his chair with her arms around Harry's shoulders letting his head rest on her chest and Hermes stood next to him slowly patting his back. Harry flushed scarlet when he fully noticed where his head was resting and promptly chocked on his tongue. Unfortunately, this caused Death to worry more and her hands seized his face pulling him even closer so she could look at him better. Death's ample chest was all Harry could see at that point and his coughing got worse. Hermes having quickly realized what was happening to his wide eyed and red faced son burst out laughing.

Death's bone chilling glare went unnoticed by the snickering god, "This is no laughing matter! Harry, are you alright? What happened?"

The honest worry in her tone drove Hermes to uncontrollable mad cackling. Harry turned an even darker shade of red knowing his father was laughing at him and slowly pushed Death away. Coughing a few more times to clear his throat, he was still able to hear Hermes laughing a few steps away. "I'm alright, I uh, just haven't been that close to a woman's…I mean Mrs. Weasley hugged me before but she's not as pretty as…I mean…I'm alright."

Death paused to understand his babbling still holding Harry's face and looked into his eyes. When it seemed she had gotten what he meant a smirk slowly appeared on her face. "Oh don't worry Harry, it is sweet that you find me attractive. You are a young man after all." The smirk grew, "So don't be such a stiff Harry, live a little." Hermes laughter had died down and he gave a small chuckle at Death's pun.

Hermes clapped his hands to draw attention to him. "That was fun but I think it's time for us to get down to work. Loki will make sure that Thor is at the ritual site, and I know where it is already. That means that you, Harry, will be left with Death to go write your will and get everything else ready."

"But how will I be going back in time?" He turned to Death, "You said that I was a second away from dying, right?"

"Yes, you are correct, but you have to realize, I exist at all times and in all places. It is simple for me to move through the flow of time. I will be taking you back to before you started looking for Voldemort's horcruxes and will make sure we are not seen." Death stood up from the arm of the chair and brushed out her shirt to show now was as good a time as any. "Come on Harry."

"Then I will see you soon," and with that Hermes was gone in a flash.

Death guided Harry over to the door and as it opened she wrapped her arm through his. Harry knew that he should still feel distraught over losing his friends when everything was done but there was a small part of him that was excited to see where this new life would lead.

**Part 2 – Life After Death**

All in all arranging his affairs with the bank was easy. It was only a few tests of his magic to show he was who he said he was. He had to write out his Last Will, and then he sat in front of an enchanted recorder as he read it so that his image would be shown to those who came to his Will reading. After his Will was done Harry set up an account under the name Neo Evan Thorson. When he asked Death how his new identity was going to be documented, she explained that Hecate would deal with the paper work. Neo Thorson would be a 17 year old wizard who was home schooled while he and his guardian, Azrael Nightshade, traveled and that he had passed his O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S. Harry asked who Azrael Nightshade was and Death explained that it was an alias she sometimes used for reasons she wouldn't say. Harry was counting himself lucky that he studied his magical lessons for his 7th year while he had the chance during his journey with his friends. He was also doubly grateful that he knew what a mundane education was worth and took summer school in-between his times at Hogwarts. Neo Thorson would have a standard education as both a mundane and a wizard.

It was hours later when Death and Harry were ready to leave the bank. Just like before when they left Death's realm, she tucked her left arm through Harry's right and in the next step out the door they were somewhere entirely different. They had appeared in a small clearing of woods. There were torches lining the perimeter illuminating the dogs that sat under them, Harry quickly counted at least a dozen, one under each torch. In the middle of the clearing standing outside of a circle that had been outlined in the ground where three figures. As Harry and Death approached the circle he saw that the middle figure was a woman with a torch at each side. She had her long black hair loose and her violet eyes glowed with power as she gazed at Harry. Black robes hung from her slim shoulders the low cut of the neck indecent as it revealed a strip of skin from her neck to below her navel. Her skin was luminous in the moon light and she was beyond mortal beauty. A pair of dogs sat at her heels and a serpent was coiled around her left arm. To the woman's left stood Hermes wearing what Harry assumed was ancient Greek robes. The robes were two layered with a metal breastplate over the under robe. The under robe was solid white the neck square and the sleeves stopped mid-upper arm, the hem was cut short at the knee. The outer robe was silver and looked like mercury; it was sleeveless, hung open in front and like the under robe stopped at the knee. He wore his famous flying sandals on his feet and his winged helm, and in his hand he held a winged staff that had two snakes coiled around it. Harry had seen that symbol before but couldn't remember where. On the woman's right stood a man who had a slightly more intimidating look. The new man had a muscular build clothed in fitted armor. The bracers fashioned around his forearms glinted in the light. Scaled chainmail pronounced the bulging muscles in his arms and legs. Metal plated leather covered his torso and formed his sturdy boots, which went to his knee and had metal shin guards. The great red cape that hung from his shoulders moved with the slightest of breezes. A golden-red mane hung loosely to his shoulders and his trimmed beard and mustache was thick. His intimidating look was softened by the smile he wore reminding Harry of a gentle half-giant.

When they stopped in front of the others Death made the introductions. "Harry this is Thor, Hecate and you've already met Hermes. Lords and Lady this is Harry Potter."

Hecate inclined her head but it was Thor that spoke first. "Verily, it is good to finally lay eyes on you my son," a voice like rumbling thunder came from his mouth. His old Scandinavian accent was strong and the timbre of his voice vibrated through the air. He stepped forward and laid his hand on Harry's shoulder. The suddenly heavy weight caused Harry to almost collapse.

Hermes snickered, "Thor here is a god of strength, Harry. He's spent a lot of time around us gods lately and forgets that he could knock a mortal over with a pat on the back."

"Aye, I have forgotten to take heed." The sheepish smile that Thor sent Harry was enduring as he removed his hand. "This mortal form you currently possess does not house my godly strength, but that shall soon change."

"But how will this work? I thought that I would be getting a new form. Do I have to do something here?" Harry asked aloud.

"I thought that you deserved the chance to say goodbye." Death explained to him.

As Harry turned his head to look at her he caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye and turned back. Standing right in front of him was James and Lily Potter. He swallowed thickly, "What?"

"Death explained to me what was going on and I asked if I could see you before the ritual got started," his adoptive father answered. "I wanted you to know Harry that I have always loved you as my son. I am so proud of you and I always will be." James turned to Lily who stood beside him. "I know that you are the mortal form of a god, but I still love you in death as much as I loved you in life."

Lily smiled at him, "I love you too. I lived a lifetime as Lily. In that time I learned how to be a witch, fell in love with a man I wanted to grow old with and had a gorgeous son with him. I may be memories from a different life but I loved you so much." As James faded away the beaming smile on his face made tears appeared in Lily's eyes.

Harry, who was listening to the couple say there final words, realized Thor's absence. Harry may not understand the gods but he knew that the spirit of James Potter was at peace now that he said his goodbye's to his family. He saw Lily look at him. "How are you here?"

"The power of gods can do many things. We can change our appearance. I wanted to make sure you understood that it is me talking Harry. I am your mother and I wanted you to know that I will always be here for you. I am Thor too, and I can be whoever you need me to be." She was smiling but Harry could tell she was unsure if he wanted her or Thor.

"You are my Mum and you always will be, but you don't need to think that I would want you to stay Lily just because of that. I knew that my parents (James and Lily) loved me and I will always have that love in my heart, but I never knew my parents. You can be who you want to be, because I love you no matter if you're Thor or Lily." Harry knew it was a strange thing to say but he meant every word he said.

Lily smiled sadly as she went to hug her son. It was the best hug that Harry had ever received. It was full of his mother's love and Harry was finally able to say he knew what it felt like. The embrace lasted a few minutes. She bent down further to whisper in his ear and a tear fell from his eye at her words, "Goodbye, Harry."

When Lily straightened back up her form slowly disappeared in a ripple of light as Thor was revealed. At that moment, Harry realized that Death had hoped seeing his parents again would give him a sense of peace.

Death placed her hand on Harry's arm to draw his attention. "I am sorry that we have to leave so soon but the ritual must get started and I need to return you to Hogwarts."

"Will it hurt?" he asked.

"It will be like falling asleep. When you wake up again you will have been reborn. It will be fine, Harry, trust me." She held out her hand and when he took it without hesitation she nodded. There was a feeling of weightlessness that overtook Harry as his vision went black.

*break*

When Harry started regaining consciousness he could hear a voice and as he became more aware he recognized it as Hermes. Opening his eyes Harry was almost blinded by the light. After his eyes adjusted he noticed that he was lying in an unfamiliar place once again. The bed he was lying in was a regular queen sized bed on a frame with white cotton sheets. The walls were painted cream and the only other furniture was a small table next to the bed and a chair that was being occupied by the god of messengers. Hermes slipped a phone that made a hissing noise into his pocket and sat up with a grim look on his face.

He held out a mirror to Harry but before he could look at his reflection Hermes pulled it back just out of reach. "I'm sorry about this kiddo. We have no idea what went wrong, but it will be okay. After all, you like house elves don't you?"

Hermes question made Harry's eyes widen and he lunged forward to snatch the mirror. He saw his hands were at least human looking, but still dreading what he would see he turned it toward him. The first glance he got made him breathe a sigh of relief, and he whacked Hermes on the shoulder out of frustration at the god. When he was done he took a closer look. He really wasn't Harry Potter anymore. He had the same emerald eyes as before and his hair was still dark, but that's where the similarities stopped; he now had an olive complexion and his face looked completely different. His face was squarer due to his jaw being slightly broader. He had a wider nose and the set of his eyes matched his new face. His neck was thicker and he had broad shoulders. He glanced down to see that his arms had more muscle than before and seemed longer. When he spoke he noticed his voice had changed and for some reason his accent wasn't as pronounced, "Wow, just wow…how long was I out."

"It's about 9:30 in the morning." Hermes picked up 4 packages of various sizes and set them on the bed next to Harry. "Happy birthday, Neo!"

"Where did these come from?" asked Harry, or as he started calling himself, Neo now.

"Well Death, Hecate, Thor and I figured that since it was, in a way, your birthday that we would get you something from each of us. Here, this one's from Death." He pulled the smallest package of the top and handed it to his son.

It was a small jewelry box and when Neo opened it he found a large ring. He plucked it from the box to examine it. A wide band held up the face of the ring. The one and a half inch metal face was a small circular shield. In the center there was a skull and engraved on its forehead was a circle inside of a triangle and a line dividing the two, the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. A circle surrounded the skull and outside of it there was writing that Neo couldn't decipher. He placed it on the middle finger of his right hand and even though it looked heavy it felt weightless and fit well. He asked Hermes, "What does it say?"

"It's a language most gods have forgotten. I just call it Ancient, because it was the first language that Life and Death used to communicate with each other before time was time. Death told me it was your title, so that all could see you are the Master of Death. She placed the power of the Deathly Hallows inside the ring. All you have to do is focus on wanting to turn invisible and you will without the cloak. She can also speak to you using it and you can talk to her but that's all she told me. What I do know, is that you walk into the underworld wearing that, I wouldn't be surprised if Hades himself bowed to you, but you have to promise you'll take a picture for me." They both chuckled and Hermes gave him another package. "Here this is from me."

It was a non-descript box that separated like a shoe box. Inside was a sleek black cell phone. "I modeled the design after that mortal cell phone the Samsung Galaxy." Pulling it out of the box for Neo he turned it on. "It's a cell phone with the latest in Demigod technology and has a great GPS, so that you can see the places you want to go and apparate there. I've got my number in here so you can text me if you need anything and I recommend texting as the best way to get a hold of me. My phone is ringing all the time because of the other gods calling, so I only answer it when I get the chance." A muffled voice coming from Hermes pocket interrupted him.

"You think that the gods would understand the demands of a messenger god, but _no_ they're still calling at eight o'clock in the morning," a small hissing voice that sounded male said.

"I know some of us are trying to get our beauty sleep in the morning." This time the hissing voice was female.

"Whatever, you could sleep for a millennium and you would still be as ugly as you are now." The first voice said.

The indignant squawk of the second voice was unintelligible, and Neo was trying not to laugh.

Hermes reached into his inner pocket and pulled out his phone, Neo was able to see that it was a regular cell phone with an antenna, but wrapped around the antenna was what looked like two wrestling worms. When he got a better look he was surprised to find they were really small snakes. "Do I have to put you two outside? I'm trying to have a talk here, and you said you would be quiet."

The snakes stopped wriggling and hung their heads. "We're sorry my Lord. We'll be quiet, sorry," answered the male snake and with that Hermes tucked his phone back into his pocket.

Harry smirked, "Does mine do that?"

"Thankfully no, but I can show you what it does do." Hermes took a few minutes to explain how a cell phone works because even though Neo knew what they were he had never used one. He was a beginner thanks to the Dursleys believing he wasn't worth spending the money for a cell phone on. After a short explanation on how the applications on the phone worked and making sure he memorized his number in case he wanted to give it to someone. Hermes then in parental fashion, made sure Neo knew the dos and don'ts of phone etiquette and the dangers of someone stealing his information.

When they were done and Neo's new phone was ready to use Hermes grabbed the third present. It was wrapped in a plain purple wrapping. Hermes explained as he handed it over, "This is from Hecate and she told me that it wasn't her last gift to you but she thought it would be good for now."

Unwrapping it and tossing the paper to the side Neo found a large, black leather bound book the length of his arm. He opened it and the title cover proclaimed it was "The Grimoire of the Battle Magus" Neo noticed that he could read it clearly even though it was written in Latin.

When they were setting up Neo's cell phone Hermes explained that most Demigods were only capable of reading the writing designated by their parent's respective pantheon. Meaning he should have only been capable of reading ancient Greek and Norse. When he mentioned this to Hermes, the god explained it was probably do to the fact Neo retained his magic and the magic was automatically translating things for him. This lead to Hermes telling Neo that during the ritual Neo was blessed by Hecate as her chosen Champion, because she is a virgin goddess her blessing made Neo her chosen child. Being a chosen of Hecate was a great honor and hadn't happened for at least five centuries, or since Merlin. As a chosen of Hecate his magic will be even more powerful and he will not need a wand to wield it. Because he won't need a wand he will have to practice on how to use it without one. Neo had already tried to levitate the box Death's present came in and it flew up and smashed into the ceiling taking a notch out of the plaster.

Neo quickly flipped through the book noting that it was mostly battle spells and some very powerful healing spells but the first quarter section was dedicated to helping a magus harness and control their magic. He looked up when something nudge his side and found Hermes pushing the largest package toward his still sitting form. "This one's from Thor. He also wanted me to tell you that, "Now you look like a son of Thor," and it's true. I'd say you're a good mix of him and me."

Neo rubbed the back of his neck and then opened the box. It wasn't just one thing inside, he found two cuffs sitting on top of a jacket. They were simple bands the width of his hand made of leather with metal buckles for clasps. In the middle of the bands there was a metal cover that had a symbol that looked like an anchor or hammer with Celtic designs. "It's the symbol of Thor and represents his battle hammer Mjolnir," Hermes told him. "They're divine weapons that Thor had the dwarves make for you. They don't really look like that it's just a disguise. Go ahead and put them on, here I'll help." Once the cuffs were buckled on to Neo's wrists he stood up to try on the jacket.

After he stood up he noticed that he was taller and Hermes was shorter than him now. "I thought you said I would be 17 after the ritual?"

"Yeah, and you are, why?" Hermes questioned.

Neo was not an idiot or suicidal by nature so he answered, "Nothing, I just wanted to make sure."

"Okay," the look Hermes gave clearly showed he was questioning his son's mental state, but decided it wasn't important at that time. He took out the jacket, revealing a pair of boots underneath, and held it up nodding in approval. The jacket was sturdy, black leather with a red strip across the shoulders and down each arm, and no collar. Instead of a zipper there were leather straps on one side, and on the other were clasps to slide the straps through to close the jacket. "Here try it on and see if it fits."

The jacket fit perfectly and when the straps where fastened it was perfect. Flexing a little to see if it blocked any movement Neo was surprised when Hermes' hand move as fast as a golden snitch and he took a step back. When Harry moved the jacket suddenly became a set of black leather and metal armor. The red strip turned into a cape that was fastened to the shoulder guards. When Neo thought that the cap was cool but he would rather not have it all the time, the cape seemed to shrink and become cloth patches on the shoulder guards. When the cape disappeared the scaled chainmail on his arms vanished and he was left with metal bracers on his forearms and an armored vest. Neo beamed at Hermes in awe, "That, was _wicked!_"

Hermes nodded, "Yeah, that was actually pretty cool, and the boots look like they're made of the same stuff. They probably turn into a version of what Thor was wearing in the clearing."

"So how do I change it back?" Neo asked, but as he said it the armor turned back into a jacket. "Never mind."

"I've got some clothes for you to wear here." Hermes grabbed a bag that had been sitting next to his chair. "I'll be back in a few minutes, so try to get ready quickly."

Neo started to pull off the jacket and sleepwear he had on as he took the bag from Hermes. Being in a boys dorm was like a high school locker-room you soon lost most of your since of modesty, so Neo didn't feel anything about changing in front of people. As Hermes turned toward the door he asked, "Ready for what?"

"You're going to a place that can help you train your demigod powers." With that Hermes left the room closing the door behind him.

Neo opened the bag and saw a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He continued to get dressed while he wondered what Hermes meant. He would agree that he would need to get used to his new powers and he would need to find out what they even were. He was sure that as the son of Hermes he would have some form of his abilities. Hermes said in Death's realm that he inherited power from the trickster god. Even Death mentioned that the power he inherited from Thor was the reason he was able to defeat Voldemort. Now that he had a body that was capable of using that power he would need training. The question was where were they sending him now?

Neo had found socks in the bag too and was lacing his new boots up when Hermes came back. "I've got you some stuff you'll need." He had a man in a postman's uniform come in with a trolley. When he got to Hermes he stopped, let go of the cart and left. "Thanks, Ben." Hermes said to the man's back. "I've got all of your stuff here. I had to upgrade your trunk so that there was room for anything else you pick up after you start your training. It has three different compartments now. You've got your books and school things in one space. Hecate made sure to fill up your potions kit and replace some of your worn things. I'm pretty sure I saw her adding in other things that Hogwarts definitely wouldn't allow at the school. Like the more poison oriented ingredients, and some spell books that probably have some forgotten spells and curses. You're lucky you were unconscious when she and Death decided that you needed a new wardrobe. You would have had to go shopping with them. Those two are as bad as mortal women when it comes to shopping. Instead Hecate had a magic measuring tape take your measurements and your clothes are already packed into your second compartment." He reached behind the trunk and brought out a cage with a falcon in it. The bird's intelligent eyes looked a Harry and he felt an instant connection that he had felt before with Hedwig but she had given her life for him. He bird bobbed its head and its silver feathers glinted in the light from the window. Neo didn't know what color a falcon's feathers really were but he was sure they were not completely silver. "This is a Peregrine Falcon there the fastest bird and can actually reach 389 kilometers per hour. I made him for you but I'll understand if you don't want to keep him."

Neo interrupted his dad, "No he's great, thanks Dad." He took the cage and slowly reached out to the falcon which nibbled at his fingers in greeting.

"_Hello hatchling of my creator._" A voice spoke in his head.

"What was that?" he asked Hermes.

Hermes' smug grin was on his face again. "It was the falcon. He's not an ordinary bird. Since I made him I gave him the ability to speak to you, and just like when snakes talk you're the only one that can hear him. I haven't given him a name yet so that's your job, but later. We have to get you out of here before anyone from Olympus starts wondering what I'm up to."

That made Neo pause, "Yeah I thought you said that you couldn't contact me outside of Death's realm. So what are you doing here, and the clearing?"

"Hecate was shielding the clearing because it was part of her domain, and she warded this room to make sure that no one could see you and me. Oh! I almost forgot about her last two gifts to you." He went to the door and poked his head out. "You two can come in now."

Hermes stepped aside and two other men in their early twenties walked in. Neo new who they were because he had seen pictures of them in photos with James and Lily after Hogwarts, but it wasn't right because the two looked the same as when they were in the pictures. "Sirius, Remus, what's going on?"

It was true Sirius and Remus stood in front of Neo looking young again. "Hecate thought that it was unfair for you to leave _everyone_ behind so she and Death got together to give you and these two a second chance. The wizards think that due to your death Remus took Sirius out of Britain on a last minute trip to escape the sorrow of losing you so suddenly. Hecate blessed them as her vassals (it's something like a priest and also gives them a power boost) and your protectors, so that they can go with you. Death reversed their time clocks back to before Sirius went to Azkaban and Hecate helped Remus with his Lycanthropy. As a law of Magic the curse is permanent but she was able to shift the conditions of the curse. Remus is now a shape shifter that can change at will, fully aware when he changes, and can change into a very large wolf with super speed and strength. He's definitely one lucky dog." Neo heard Sirius give a small barking laugh that made Remus roll his eyes. "So you ready to go? We can't wait much longer."

"Almost, I just need to make sure I've got everything." Neo quickly check himself and the room. He had on the ring from death, the clothes from Hermes, the bands that were actually some type of weapons, and his new boots. He set the falcon's cage down lightly on the floor and picked up his jacket to put on because it was better to wear it than have to carry it. The book Hecate gave him was the last item on the bed beside the boxes his gifts came in. "What should I do with all of this," he said gesturing to the empty packages.

"I've got it, Harry," said Remus as he pulled out his wand to banish the trash, shrunk the book and then Neo's trunk which he handed to him.

"Thanks, actually it's Neo now, what with the new body and all, besides I think it fits." Neo took the trunk and pocketed it and the book. He looked at the falcon in his cage. "You're the last thing my friend. Do you want to travel with us, or can you find me after I get to where ever I am going?"

The bird spoke to Neo with a voice that was deep. "_Silly hatchling, now that you are my human I have to look after you. Your kind can get up to all sorts of trouble after all. Be careful what you say though. It's an insult for you to think that the fastest god would make me into an ordinary bird. I can fly faster than any bird and have strength like a phoenix, and my sense of direction is extraordinary. I will find you no matter where you go, even into the lands of the dead if I must. Come now hatchling, open the cage and I will find you later._" When Neo opened the cage the bird flew over to the window and passed right through it as if a ghost.

"What was that!" Neo exclaimed.

"Well he's not your average bird, is he? That should be everything so here," he handed Neo a crumpled paper sack, "This is one of those portkey things. Hecate programmed it or whatever so that it takes you directly to Camp Halfblood where you'll be safe and start your training."

"What do you mean be safe, the war with Voldemort is over, right? What else would be after Harry, oh sorry, I mean Neo, and what is this Camp Halfblood?" Remus question was one that the other two men were curious about as well.

"Neo is a very powerful demigod, and now that he knows, it will be impossible for him to hide from the monsters that just love having demigods for lunch. Plus he's the mortal son of two gods which is just going to make him a Grade A meal for them. Camp Halfblood is a place where the demigod children of Olympus go to get training in their powers but its barrier also keeps them safe from the blood thirsty monsters. With the right training Neo with be able to harness his improved magic and the powers he inherited from Thor and I, but his job as Master of Death won't factor in until later, though he does hold the title permanently. Let's not get side tracked, you still have to get a move on. That portkey will get you close, but you'll have to get to the camp on your own. It's tradition that a demigod's first journey is to get to the camp. Not to mention that appearing out of thin air in the middle of a camp full of trained warriors would probably get you killed. Alright you two grab onto the bag, don't worry I was told it wouldn't tear apart. Neo the activation word is "Salutem". I should warn you now, you have brothers and sisters at the camp but when I claim you as my son Thor will be claiming you as his also. That's going to stir up a lot of trouble and I want you to know that no matter what anyone says, you are who you choose to be, just stay true to yourself. Final thing, when you smell strawberries your almost there. I'll see you around kid." Hermes quickly embraced Neo in a hug and when he let go his smile echoed the pride he felt.

The wizards and demigod grabbed the sack and Neo quickly said the activation word. Then in a swirling mass the world blended into colors. When it finally stopped they found themselves on a road in the middle of farm lands.

"Well which way do you think we should go?" Sirius questioned.

Neo's gut was telling him that they should continue in the direction they were facing, and he was sure that he could catch a whiff of strawberries on the wind. "I think we should go this way."

They had been walking for about twenty minutes when the smell of strawberries was unmistakable and they had just passed a sign a little way back. With Neo in the lead they were slowly heading through the trees up a large hill. Just then Remus caught a smell that set him on edge. It smelled like a wild dog and the rusted smell of dried blood. "Be on alert something's here and I smell blood," he warned.

Sirius had just pulled his wand from its holster when a large black shadow launched from the trees at the three men, who were able to dodge just in time. When Sirius turned to see a large two headed dog slow to a stop and spin around snarling at Neo he said the first spell that came to mind. "Reducto!" he shouted. The dog was too surprised by the unexpected attack to dodge in time. It was hit square in the face of its left head which broke its jaw and caused the other head to let out a howl of pain. Instead of deterring the beast however; it seemed to become more furious and swiped at Sirius who put up a shield. Unfortunately the spell was only enough to protect him from being shredded to pieces while the force of the giant paw coming into contact with the shield sent him flying through the trees.

"Sirius!" Neo had seen this happen in the matter of seconds and was worried for Sirius. He didn't have long to worry about his godfather though because the monster was once again turned and heading his way. He knew his magic was uncontrollable and didn't want to use it in case he got Sirius or Remus hurt. He was wishing that he had some kind if weapon like the Sword of Gryffindor or even a big stick. He glanced down at his hands when he felt something appear in them. Neo was shocked when he noticed that he was holding a pair of large battle batons. They were two feet long made of oak and where incased in metal for half a foot on each side. Neo had never used anything like them to fight with but they felt perfect in his hands. He looked up to see the monster about to surround his torso in its huge jaws and acted on instinct. He swung the batons up in an arch with deceptive grace. The dog's uninjured head went backward with a snap but its neck didn't break. Neo didn't want to give it another chance to bite, so he swung the batons in a downward "x" at the monster's chest with as much strength as he could. There was a sickening crunch as the batons impacted with enough force to crush the monsters chest. The beast was stunned and in too much pain to do anything but lay there and whine pathetically.

"You can't leave it like that, Neo." Remus spoke in a voice full of battle sympathy for the wounded creature. "Finish it."

Neo had a stirring of power run down his arms and electricity sparked at the ends of the batons. He focused on that feeling and willed for enough power to finish the monster. Lightning shot out from the batons and ran through the two headed dog making the body jolt and shake before it disappeared into golden dust.

Remus turned toward the trees looking for any sign of Sirius, "Sirius?" They heard a grown in reply.

"I'm alright, but next time I see that thing I'm going to kill it!" Sirius came out of the trees looking no worse for wear and joined the other two.

"I think your too late Sirius; it looks like Neo took care of it already, but let us keep moving in case it had friends." Remus walked beside Sirius to be ready if he needed help. They made it to the top of the hill and past a large pine tree. Down the hill, in a valley with a sizable lake must have been the camp that Hermes told them about. From the top of the hill they saw a large two story house and other buildings of Greek design dotted around. In almost the exact center of the valley were 12 small buildings of different styles.

So this was the beginning of the newest chapter in their lives. Though he didn't know exactly what was in store for them Neo was sure it was not going to be boring. "May you live in interesting times, indeed." He whispered under his breath as he gazed at his new home.

_Author Note:Don't forget to review. I love the feed back I've gotten so far. Thanks everyone! You'll hear from me soon._


	3. Chapter 2

_Author Note: (For disclaimer please view the author notes in the Prologue and Chapter 1) I am happy to say that I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and hope my readers enjoy it too. Thank you, to everyone that left comments, I'm happy to know you like the story. Don't think that I can't take critisism, I would like to hear any tips that you might have about something you didn't like or even ideas for the story (I love brainstorming and it helps when I get outside ideas too)._

_Rated M for violence (not too much) and only a little slash context in this chapter._

_"Blah." = normal speach_

_'Blah.' = thoughts_

_italicized "Blah." = beast speach_

**The Son of Two**

**Chapter 2**

They hadn't even made it down the hill before they were surrounded by a group of six young people, in armor. Most had weapons in their hands at the ready. Neo didn't want to just stand there but he remembered Hermes saying the camp was full of warriors. His nose agreed with his thoughts as he caught a strong whiff of perspiration blocking out the sweet smell of strawberries. Desciding the safer action was inaction, he stood calmly and motioned to Sirius to do the same. While the two groups stood assessing each other, the little gathering drew a curious onlooker who stepped forward.

The solid stride of an animal could be heard and everyone turned toward the source. Neo observed the new comer was a centaur. In contrast to those he had seen before he appeared less wild and more human. The being had a human-half that was as corded with muscle as his horse-half, which seemed to be a norm for his people. The human-half was Caucasian and the skin was golden tan while the horse-half was a splendid white stallion. His face appeared more human than either Firenze or Baine, even with his long beard. The eye's showed the intelligence of an ancient mentor, and the kindness of a loving grandparent. Neo was reminded more of Dumbledore than any of the beings in the Forbidden Forest.

"I am Chiron, this camps activities director, and who might you be?"

Neo glanced at Sirius and Remus who nodded at him. Having been elected the unwilling spokes person for his group Neo introduced them. "I am Neo Thorson and these are my Uncles, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin." Sirius and Remus looked questioningly at Neo but not understanding what they wanted he just shrugged.

Chiron looked at the three and asked, "Might I inquire why you are here? You are older than most demigods that come to camp for the first time and I have never seen you before. What of your Uncles? Only demigods can pass the barrier of the Camp. If they are the brothers of your human parent as you lead me to assume, they are not demigods. How did they cross the barrier?"

Neo faltered he hadn't known that the barrier kept out normal mortals as well as monsters. Then he realized why Sirius and Remus had looked at him quizzically. "Oh, sorry, I made a mistake. These men were the best friends of my adoptive father, James." Neo, thinking it was best that others believe his father gave him his last name (because technically he did just not James Potter), left out the difference. "Sirius was named my Godfather when I was born and Remus is a family friend. They have been like my Uncles and are now my guardians. As my guardians they were blessed by the goddess Hecate to accompany me. It must have been her blessing that let them pass."

It was Chiron's turn to be surprised. This young demigod claimed that the Lady of Magic herself blessed his companions. He knew there was more to this story but it was not something to be discussed in the open.

"Well, it sounds like you have had quite the adventure, and if I'm not entirely wrong you have come from Britain. Why don't we head to the Big House, it is aptly named, and you can rest while you share your story from the beginning?" Chiron gestured them to move to the large two story building they had first seen.

A short walk later Chiron had lead them inside to a large room full of chairs, tables and couches all of different designs, and recreational equipment such as table-tennis, pool, and board games etc. If not for the centaur standing in front of him Neo could almost be fooled that it was an ordinary camp while sitting in this room.

"I gather you wanted a more private place to talk," Remus addressed Chiron. "I can make it so no one outside could hear if you would like?"

A grin showed through Chiron's thick facial hair. "I am very curious as to how you would do that? If I had the ability to keep nosy children from hearing things they shouldn't, I would have had a lot more peace in my long years."

"I don't doubt the legendary immortal trainer of Heroes would have trouble with teenagers." Sirius quipped. His joke did not have the effect on his friend and godson that he was wanting. Instead of laughing they looked at him bemused. "What?" he asked.

"I didn't know that you knew that." Remus replied and Neo nodded in agreement.

Sirius glared lightly at Remus. "How easily you forget my friend. I was right there with you and James when we pulled our pranks and landed in detention, and I also sat beside you when that droning madwoman was teaching astronomy."

"Well I didn't think you were listening you always said it was boring. On the contrary, I think it's impressive that you could pay attention while you were asleep." Sirius' cheeks darkened.

"I was not sleeping, I was resting my eyes! I'd like to see you keep your vision from going blurry while staring at glowing dots for an hour!" Sirius' indignation was clear in his voice.

"Alright Sirius, I believe you." Remus placated his friend, the two may have appeared to be arguing but each had a small smile curling their lips.

Chiron's deep chuckle brought them back to their surroundings. "I see why you named them as your Uncles. They are brothers of the heart, but as amusing as this is, could you begin your tale now?"

Remus discreetly put up a silencing spell with a wave of his wand. He noticed the curious glance from Chiron at his action and explained; "Only those in the room will be able to hear what we are saying now."

"How interesting, I could feel your power but I have never met any who wield it like you." Chiron stated gesturing to where Remus had put his wand away.

"This is my wand," Remus stated, his teacher side coming out as he brought out his wand so that Chiron could see it again. "It is a small instrument made of wood and another key element at its core, which resonates with my powers, so that I can channel my power through it. I am part of a culture that uses these instruments to perform what we call magic."

Remus took the time to explain about the wizarding world to Chiron. When it got to telling their story to the old Grecian he told him briefly about his time at Hogwarts and what happened after until Voldemort attacked James and Lily. He kept the mention of their names to their first name because he knew it would be important to keep Neo's former life secret. After Remus was done it was Neo's turn to explain what had happened. He quickly recounted his years up until the end of the war. He finished his explanation giving Chiron an overview of what had taken place the last two days.

"It certainly seems like you have all lead adventurous lives so far. It will be interesting to see what comes next. There are a few things to address. The fact is that you Remus and Sirius are not demigods, but since you are Lady Hecate's vassals and have been charged to protect Neo, I must let you stay. The others here will want to know why you are here at Camp and not demigods. We shall simply say that you are men under the instruction of Lady Hecate and nothing else. You will be staying here in two of the extra rooms on the second floor. Neo, even though you know who your Father's are it is only after you have been claimed that it can be made official. Until then you may want to keep the knowledge to yourself. It will be a good way for you and the other campers to remain unbiased in your opinions for now. That also being said any undetermined demigods are to stay at the Hermes cabin until they are claimed by a godly parent, so you will be with your brothers and other children of the gods there. I must admit to feeling slightly apprehensive of what will happen when your _other_ father determines you."

Chiron paused with a pensive look for a moment wondering if he should worry the child with his thoughts, "Camp Half-blood has never hosted a demigod of _two gods_ before, not to mention that your two fathers are from different pantheons, and I do not know how you will be received afterward. The different divinities try to stay separate so that it doesn't seem that one group is encroaching on the territory of another," another pause. "What I mean is this may cause controversy between the gods of Olympus and Asgard. If that is the case I want you to know that it is not your fault and I will always welcome you at Camp. I wanted to tell you this to prepare you for the possibility but try not to let it bother you, as of right now it will not make a difference."

"Thanks, Chiron, but I have experience with not letting impending doom bother me." Neo replied sarcastically. "I'm just a little excited to meet my brothers, actually. I've never had any real relatives other than my adoptive Aunt and her family, and I don't count them as family much."

"I see but there's no need to worry about that. The sons of Hermes are mischievous and love pranks. So you should get along well with your half-brothers." Chiron smiled grimly in anticipation of a prank war the likes of which the Camp has never seen; with the two wizards and a magical demigod it was going to be a War of epic proportion.

As if summoned by Chiron's feelings of terror Luke Castellan, the notorious Head Counselor of cabin 11, walked in, "Hey Chiron, what's keeping you big guy? Your half an hour late for Archery and it's almost lunch."

Neo saw an older teen that he could only describe as the stereotypical surfer. He had a suntan from spending hours outside and sun bleached blonde locks shorn short. His face had sharp handsome features and high cheekbones and his blue eyes had the same perpetually mischievous look as Hermes. Neo had no doubt that he was a son of Hermes and his half-brother. Suddenly Neo felt nervous and his racing thoughts about how well they would get along or if they would hate each other did not help. Neo looked into the boy's eyes for just a second and a sensation overcame him. For that one second that the other boy glanced his way Neo felt like something terribly wrong was happening, as if the world had turned upside down. That sense of wrongness didn't leave after that and Neo was on edge. He tried to convince himself that it was just nerves but it wasn't working very well.

"Ah Luke! I was just about to take our new demigod to meet you. Neo Thorson this is Luke Castellan, son of Hermes, and the Head of the Hermes cabin." Neo nodded when Luke smiled at him but he made sure not to look him in the eye. "As I explained Neo, you will be staying in the Hermes cabin until you are determined and maybe after." Chiron's voice didn't show any proof that he knew who Neo's Father was and Neo thought he had missed his calling as an actor.

"Hey man, don't look so worried, Hermes is the god of Travelers so you'll stay with us for a little while but we're not that bad, really." Luke was trying to make sure the new kid didn't feel too nervous because he had misinterpreted nerves as why the boy wouldn't look him in the eyes. "I say that now but I should warn you that my brothers love their jokes, so you might want to keep an eye out."

"Yes Hermes cabin is always playing a prank on the other cabins." Chiron said and noticed when Sirius suddenly looked a little more interested.

Luke chuckle as if remembering something funny, "We don't prank _all_ the time. Our retaliation tactics just happen to be funny, too."

"Why don't you take our new friends outside and show them around before lunch and then you can show them the Pavilion?" Chiron's suggestion was more of an order.

Having been dismissed from Dumbledore's office enough to know when to leave, Sirius, Remus and Neo stood and followed Luke outside. Before they made it more than a few feet from the Big House, Luke turned around facing the other three. He held out his hand to Remus in a gesture of greeting, "Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. Chiron didn't actually introduce you two. You're not new campers are you?"

Shaking the others hand Remus introduced himself, "Remus Lupin, pleasure, and no we're here as the guardian of our nephew Neo." The brief handshake switched to Sirius who returned it firmly.

"Sirius Black," he announced.

"Well, no offence guys, but you look like you're playing dress up with something my grandfather would wear and it's got to be hot. So the first place we're going is the supply cabin to grab you something to wear." Luke turned to the side of the Big House where a small building that looked more like a shack stood. Behind him Sirius and Remus looked at their clothes and each other puzzled, both not knowing that the wizarding worlds fashion was more out dated than they thought.

It took a few minutes to find clothes that fit and put them on. Sirius looked even younger, than his early twenties, in faded blue jeans and the orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. His hair was thicker and less shaggy, falling to the nap of his neck in waves. When Remus came back out Sirius was shocked.

"I didn't know you could look like that! If you had looked like that at school you would have been fighting girls off with a stick! My Godric, man, you're hot!" Sirius' exclamation made Remus blush but it was completely true.

Remus looked astoundingly different wearing a shirt and jeans. The blue t-shirt he wore was showing well muscled arms that had been hidden under his usual jacket, and was stretched over muscular shoulders. Luke had given him a quick haircut and his brown hair was now a few inches from the scalp at the top of his head and shorter on the sides and back. Being able to see his face more clearly showed that it was free of scars and looked squarer. His crystal green eyes were clearly visible as was the blush that was slowly fading from his checks.

"Yeah, I was actually really surprised too." Luke said coming out of the supply cabin with three bags. "Here," he said tossing one bag to each of them. "I got you guys the essentials. You know, shampoo, soap, deodorant all the stuff to make sure we don't knock each other out with our smell after we train. Plus it will keep the girls off your case if you take regular showers."

They thanked him, and Sirius put his and Remus' bag in the Big House, before Luke continued showing them around. The landscape was made up of mostly hills and flat clearings. The biggest hill sat on the edge of the camp with a large pine tree at its peak. Luke had called it Half-Blood Hill and explained about the daughter of Zeus who was turned into a pine tree.

Neo thought that human transfiguration took a great level of skill especially since it was classified as taboo for being a borderline dark art. But then he remembered there were a few ancient tales where people were turned into animals and trees. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, _however improbable_, must be the truth," he quoted the famous words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his head. So perhaps the power of the gods was stronger than wizard magic, at least enough to accomplish seemless human transfiguration. Neo didn't want to mention anything to Luke however after seeing the sadness on his face when he spoke about the tree.

They passed the volleyball court where demigods and satyrs were having fun playing. As they passed the arts and crafts Neo saw a camper and satyr working on a clay bust of one of the gods. They headed across the small river that fed a small lake dotted with canoes toward the group of cabins.

A large fire pit sat in the middle of a circle of 11 cabins. Luke explained that the cabins were for the children of each god and said that only seven were being lived in. It was strange to Neo that there were only 11 cabins when he knew that the Major gods alone numbered 12, not to mention the numerous Minor gods.

Neo dropped off his things in the rundown Hermes cabin under heavy antitheft charms that Remus put on them unnoticed behind his back. It wasn't even the thought that some of the people in the cabin were children of Hermes that made Remus hyperaware. It was the fact that he had lived in a boy's dorm and with Sirius for years already. Seeing the worn state of the cabin Remus and Sirius silently agreed that they would fix it tomorrow when they had the chance, preferably while there were no campers around.

Continuing behind the arena with its large columns, they saw the armory and forge where some boys were making their own swords and shields. The Pegasus stables were clean and the winged creatures appeared to stare at Neo. One of the winged horses even walked behind him nudging his head until he turned around to look at it. The Pegasus was a young adult female but she stood at least 18 hands high at the shoulder, making her about ten and a half feet tall from the ground to the top of her head. The coat of the Pegasus was brilliantly white but the hair of her mane and tail were grey like the feathers on her wings. Her big gold eyes stared into his and she bowed her large head.

"_Hello little demigod, you smell like a lightning storm and a cloudy sky. Are you a child of the King of gods? Hopefully he doesn't turn you into a tree too; you seem like a smart one. Now take me out for a ride I'm bored of staying in here._" Her voice sounded calm and smooth like a lady of privilege as it rang through his mind. She pushed him again with her big head trying to shove him out of the stables, but just as they reached the open door, there was a sound of a bird's war cry and the falcon that Hermes had given Neo, which he planned to name Argyros, came diving through the air at the head of the Pegasus. The Pegasus drew up on its hind legs and whinnied sharply. The winged horse's hooves whipping through the air batting at the falcon that flew like a flash of silver around it.

"_That is my human you horse clod! You Pegasi may think your special but I was made for him and you will not take him from me!_" Argyros shrieked at the Pegasus. He flew toward her head once again but had to change course to avoid a hoof.

"Stop!" Neo shouted at the two battling animals. "What do you think you're doing? Cut it out, right now!" His words affected the falcon, which came to land on his shoulder, its breath puffing in and out through its mouth.

The Pegasus settled on all four legs its nostrils flared and its big barreled chest heaving, but it kept a wary eye on the bird. "Now what in the world was that?" Neo demanded.

"_Pegasi are notorious attention hogs. If I had let you go flying with her she would have worked her horse wiles on you. Soon you would forget about me for this horse brained earth stomper!_" Neo noticed that Argyros was completely convinced that he was right.

"_Be silent you pheasant brained meat eater! I only wanted to go for a ride. It gets stuffy in here, and I don't see you being able to carry him through the sky!_" The feathered equine whinnied again to show her anger at the small waist of airspace.

"_I can carry more that you, you grass eating dung heap!_" Argyros replied.

"Enough!" Neo yelled his head throbbing because of the two arguing voices that were piercing and sharp in his skull. He looked at the falcon. "Listen, I get it, I'm your human and you got jealous but you don't need to be. I know we just met this morning but you're going to be my best friend, I just know it. Nothing is going to change the fact that I will always take care of you and you'll do the same, right? So don't fight." He then glanced over at the Pegasus. "It was nice meeting you and I'm sorry about my friend. I would like to go flying with you sometime but I can't right now. Why don't I come back when there is a class on flying and we can fly then?"

"_That's fine as long as you promise, and I am called Constance._" She told him.

"I promise, my names Neo." Neo said.

Before she completely turned around, she spoke again. "_And leave the bird, his shrill voice is grating on my delicate ears._" Her words were meant to anger the falcon and by the look of his puffed up feathers it worked.

"_You useless cow, I'll pluck out your eyes if I get the chance._" The falcon clicked his beak and seethed still perched on Neo's shoulder.

The other three men watched this scene in stunned silence. Remus and Sirius thinking that Neo had a lot on his hands with that bird, and Luke wondering what kind of demigod could talk to animals like Neo obviously just did.

Shaking off the surprise of the beastly fight, Luke commented, "Maybe you're a son of Demeter or part nymph if you can speak to animals, and that's a cool bird. So he's a friend of yours, huh?"

Neo rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and soothed the avian with the other. "Yeah, this is Argyros, he was a present that I got this morning."

A trumpet noise sounded off in the distance. When the three wizards turned to the blonde he explained that it was a conch shell and it signaled meal times. They walked past the armory and arena then behind the cabins and toward a large open pavilion, it reminded Neo of Hogwarts with its long tables for each of the 11 cabins even though four of them were empty. Luke explained that the empty tables were there out of respect. Seeing that the Hermes table was overcrowded already Remus and Sirius headed toward the head table were Chiron had made room for them.

The food was passed out but before they started eating every demigod had gotten up and started to walk toward the large fire pit that resembled a golden bowl in the middle of the mess hall. Luke told him about the offerings to the gods and when he caught the smell of the burnt offerings he admitted that he could like such an amazing sent too. He pushed off a piece of pear for Hermes and a stem of grapes for Hecate, a chunk of meat went to Thor and he sent a silent prayer to Death to watch over him. He had more of an appetite than he had before and blamed it on the fact that he was a son of an athlete and a warrior so his new body needed more sustenance than some people.

The day continued with Luke showing them the different training that the demigods had on a daily basis it took awhile and before they knew it the last meal was being served and after spending the last hour before bed at the campfire the campers went to their cabins and Remus and Sirius went to the Big House to find their rooms and turn in. When he got to Cabin 11 he was formally introduced to the others there as they got ready to sleep. Unfortunately the cabin was too small for everyone to get a bed, but there was a feeling of contentment when Neo lay down on an empty spot of floor with a blanket that Luke had found for him.

***Break***

Neo woke up early from a refreshing deep sleep. Looking around it seemed that everyone was still in the arms of Morpheus so he used his lifelong skill of stealth, which he perfected in his time at the Dursleys, to quietly leave.

After he exited Neo saw a small girl, maybe nine or ten, sitting next to the fire and moving the wood around with a stick. As he got closer she seemed to notice him. The girl looked over her shoulder at Neo with a broad smile then she seemed to be sucked into the fire and was gone. It was something else that Neo would list as curious but not the strangest thing he has seen.

He shook his head and turned toward the restroom to proceed with his morning routine. As he walked past a shadowed area behind cabin 11 something detached itself from the shadows and slowly stepped forward. Neo turned ready to fight and defend himself but the figure stopped its advance outside of his striking range. The giant shape seemed to rock backward as its backend fell to the ground. That's when Neo recognized what it was; sitting in front of him was a dog the color of a golden retriever with a dark muzzle and ears, and the dog was massive. Even sitting down its head was as high as his with a frame made up of muscle and long legs. A scent of herbs came from the dog, as if it had walked through so many plants that its fur was permeated with the smell. Glowing (actually glowing like a glow stick in the dark) blue orbs observed him in return and Neo felt like it judged him, like a king staring down at a subject from his throne.

Neo stood wondering what the dog would do next, when it did something he never would have counted on, it spoke. It didn't speak in a telepathic fashion like the other animals he had heard. The great jaws of the dog opened to reveal gleaming white teeth as big as kitchen knives and words came out of its mouth.

"Well since I've got your attention, let's get started. The name's Magnum and I know you're Neo Thorson, so don't try to feed me any B.S. about having the wrong guy, kid. I could smell you from miles away. As the Child of Hecate you've got the strongest magic around which gives off a strong scent to those that know the smell. I had to track you down when I got the order to find and train you, but fortunately for you it didn't take too long." The dog, Magnum spoke with a growling, husky voice, and his words were biting as if he didn't want to be talking to someone he disliked and his tone said he disliked most people.

"Um, it's nice to meet you, I think, but what do you mean train?" Neo was wondering if he was having a strange daydream or if he was still asleep, because that would explain the girl who got swallowed by the fire.

"I mean training kid, it means I'm going to have to spend my time trying to whip you into shape and teach you about your new powers. I've been accompanying Hecate for a long time, learning what she knows and watching the different sorcerers throughout history, so I know less than she knows and more than you ever will. I've faced and defeated monsters that will make you faint on site and I've even taught a few snot nosed sorcerers to do the same. So don't expect my training to be a walk in the park. If you survive, you're life expectancy will go up, but that's only if you survive my training first." Magnum started out glaring at Neo for having to explain something so simple to the kid, but when he was finished he was baring his daunting teeth in a wolf-like grin and there was a bloodthirsty gleam in his eye.

Neo was a little frightened to be honest. He had no idea what this dog, apparently his new trainer, was going to teach him but he knew that if the teachers at Hogwarts looked like that he would never have gone.

"Listen kid, I've got to go talk to an old horse about my new job as your trainer right now so I'll be seeing you around." Magnum got up and disappeared into the shadows cast by the early morning light.

'Man this just keeps getting weirder and weirder. What's going to happen next, the centaurs getting dressed in tutus and performing The Nutcracker?' Neo thought woefully as he continued with his morning.

After most of Cabin 11 was awake the conch blew signaling breakfast and the campers marched to the pavilion. Neo saw Remus and Sirius already sitting at the head table where they were last night. Remus was lightly nudging Sirius with his elbow when it looked like Sirius was going to fall asleep. Except for Magnum who sat to the left of Chiron and next to Remus breakfast was just like dinner the night before. Neo found out how many kids at Camp Half-Blood love to gossip when he kept hearing his name, the names of his "Uncles" and talk about "that huge dog" in whispered conversations from every table around him. When the campers were done the round guy sitting next to Chiron, who was apparently Dionysus or Mr. D., stood up and dismissed everyone.

The youths all dispersed in different directions to begin their daily activities (training) and Neo not knowing where to go stayed behind to talk to Sirius and Remus. Luke was right the others in Cabin 11 where alright but Luke was the only one who waved goodbye to Neo as he left.

Remus, Sirius, Chiron and Magnum stopped next to him after everyone was gone.

"How did you guys sleep?" Neo asked.

"Not too well, but it just takes some adjusting to a new place. I think the sounds of nature at night really help because I don't remember having any nightmares." Remus admitted.

Sirius dismissed Neo's concern by saying, "It was fine, pup. I slept like a baby." At least it appeared to be true, Sirius looked a little tire but not sleep deprived and Remus had told him before that Sirius' nightmares where getting better.

"That sounds good." Chiron stated. "Remus Lupin, Sirius Black I would like to introduce you to Neo's new tutor in the Arcane, this is Lady Hecate's companion Magnum who has been in her service since Anatolia was founded as her city. He has taken on the position of secretly training young warlocks before, just as I train Heroes."

"She told me about you two, the Protectors, a cursed man and the dog animagus. She's the unofficial patron of dogs, so I can see why she likes you." Magnus' words surprised Remus and Sirius for a moment because unlike Neo neither of them had faced a talking animal before. "Like the Old Horse said I'm here to teach the kid magic and fighting."

Remus was quick to place his hand over his old friend's mouth. He didn't want the huge obviously magical creature tearing them to pieces because of Sirius letting his mouth get them into trouble. "Well, I think a trainer who has studied under the goddess of Magic would know a thing or two. I'll be happy to leave Neo's training in your…to you as long as he isn't in too much danger." Remus said politely.

"Good, now that the matter is settled, this," Chiron said handing Neo a piece of paper, "is your activity schedule Neo. I've already asked Remus and Sirius to help with teaching Mythology while they are here so you will all have something to do in the mornings. Remus you and Sirius should be going back to the Big House for your class."

Remus nodded to the ancient centaur and Sirius patted Neo on the shoulder as Neo continued looking over the schedule. Most of the activities were in hourly increments and since it was Sunday the schedule was;

08:00 a.m. – Breakfast & Cabin Inspection

09:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Sword & Shield, & Archery (one hour each)

11:00 a.m. – 01:00 p.m. – Winged Horseback Riding (a picnic lunch was planed at noon)

01:00 p.m. – 02:00 p.m. – Mythological Study

02:00 p.m. – 04:00 p.m. – Magus Training (this was written to the side after what was originally there had been scratched out)

04:00 p.m. – 08:00 p.m. – Free Time & Cabin Clean-Up

08:00 p.m. – 09:00 p.m. – Dinner

09:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Prepare for Bed (lights out at 11:00 p.m.)

There was a second schedule set apart for the week days, and looked the same with less free time. Neo was ready to see what he could do. He may not have dyslexia like the other demigods due to his magic but he had the ADHD, before his death it had never affected him as much as it does now. His reflexes were better than when he played Quidditch, and he was always on alert and his senses where better than a normal mortal. His body wasn't the only thing ready to get going. Neo could feel his magic ready to be used in a way completely different than before, and he could feel it like a part of him. His magic was like a missing limb that had been reattached, or a piece of him that was finally back. He felt more than ready to start training, even with the strange dog as his tutor.

"I think the three of us should head down to the Arena. It is a good thing that I was able to be here this weekend. I can give you your first Archery lesson." Chiron said happily, obviously he was a morning person. "I have recently had business outside of Camp and I will be leaving again tomorrow for the rest of the week."

"What kind of business, Sir?" Neo asked.

"Just call me Chiron, Neo, and it's nothing much just some business, but I don't think it will take too long." Chiron continued on with pleasant conversation about the fortunate weather that the Camp gets year round and that the end of the Summer Solstice was coming soon, until they made it to the Arena and his first official Camp lesson began.

***Break***

Soon enough it was four o'clock and he was almost back at the Hermes cabin. Neo was thoroughly exhausted but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get the grin on his face to go away. He had been terrible at sword fighting. His sword always felt awkward in his hand and the only thing he was good at was blocking with his shield. Luke had seen his struggle and promised to give him some help when he got the chance. His first Archery lesson left him afraid to pick up a bow and arrow again. During Archery he had one arrow land about half an inch from a poor sparrow sitting in a tree, which did not have anything nice to say after it's near death experience. Another arrow would have hit a Son of Apollo in the backside if he hadn't moved in time. Chiron complemented Neo on his accuracy, even if they were not the targets he was aiming for.

Flying with Constance was amazing but left Neo even more tired. He took to flying on a Pegasus as easily as a broom and Constance even gave him high praise saying, "_at least you didn't throw up_," at the end of their flight. Arial combat practice was fun, even when Neo discovered he had the power to fly the hard way.

As they were practicing a barrel roll Neo slipped from the saddle and no one was close enough to catch him. Falling through the air Neo wasn't contemplating anything but his inevitable stop. Then about 20 feet from the ground a voice whispered in his ear that he recognized as Death, "You're a Son of Hermes and a Son of Thor, use the wind young god." Neo silently called out to the air around him. He didn't know what to ask for but he decided it would be better to land safely then try to suddenly fly. He felt the air almost become solid around him as he willed it to slow him down and find a safe place to land. His flying lesson ended abruptly after that but he thought it was a great lesson anyway.

Mythology was a good time but it felt like school again. He worked on remembering what he was told because he knew one day it would be the difference between him living or dying (and as much as he liked Death the being he knew it was "third time's the charm" not four). It was interesting having Remus as a teacher again but he was still as good as always. The surprising thing was that Sirius was actually helping. However that was mostly because one of the female Campers had laughed when he introduced himself and Sirius thought that it was his opportunity to flirt with a girl. Sirius grudgingly decided that it was a lost cause, when she told him that his name was funny because it means "sparkling" in Greek.

His magic training had not gone as Neo expected. His tutor had been following him around all day until two o'clock. Magnum took him on a run with the Naiads. His trainer explained the exercise out of earshot because no one was supposed to know that Magnum could talk. He would be sporadically attacking Neo expecting Neo to dodge which would have been easier if his tutor didn't have the ability to seemingly disappear. At first Neo didn't understand the exercise and had chalked Magnum's ability to sneak up on him to the fact he was an ancient warrior dog/companion of the goddess of Magic. When his thoughts had been drowned out by the repetitive motion of running and dodging tree limbs Neo started to act on instinct. He was in an almost trance like state when he felt it. The whole forest seemed to come alive to his senses. He could feel the Naiads as they ran in front of him and the trees as he passed them. He was able to sense Magnum as he came closer and saw him through the trees a deep blue haze surrounded the trainer. He made another lunge at Neo which he easily dodged that time. After his successful dodge Magnum called a stop to the exercise.

Magnum explained that people with instincts like Neo wouldn't get anywhere by sitting and meditating they have to learn the hard way. By forcing Neo to focus on the simple task of running but expecting him to expand his senses to be able to tell when Magnum would attack was the equivalent of meditation. Magnum told him that it didn't work every time, but he would now be able to access that state of mind when under pressure. All Neo would have to do is train more to reach that state whenever he used his powers. The training would help him feel the magic around him and he would soon be able to work on inner magic and how to will the magic to do his bidding. Then he would combine the two being able to will the things around him to do what he wanted by using his magic. When Neo mentioned the blue haze he had seen around Magnum the trainer explained that it was called "Mage Sight" which was an ability to actually see magic with your own eyes.

They continued walking and had almost reached the Hermes cabin when Magnum started to vocalize a threatening growl. Realizing they had been found out the three girls that had been hiding stepped out. The girls could have been cousins of Crab and Goyle. All of them where large and muscular with glaring eyes but the biggest stood in the front.

The girl in front, obviously the leader spoke to Neo, "Look who it is, it's the new camper. Do you like Camp so far, new kid?"

Neo knew their type, every one of the girls was a bully and Neo hated bullies. Bullies just picked on people who were weaker than them because they were too weak to fight anyone else, and after living with Dudley and Vernon, Neo was _sick_ of bullies. His gut was telling him that it was going to go bad soon so he waited and watched as the other two, who Neo dubbed Goon One and Two, started to circle around to his sides.

The leader kept talking, "The Ares cabin has a special way of greeting newbies like you. So don't struggle and it'll be over soon." Before the leader had even finished the Goons made their move. Unfortunately for them Neo was faster and dodged out of the way.

Neo was still exhausted from his training and was a little sluggish so the next time Goon One grabbed for him she seized his arm around the wrist. The girl couldn't hold on though because Neo's new size made it impossible for them to hold on with just one hand. Goon Two seeing that her partner was having trouble tried to knock Neo over and succeeded in throwing them both to the ground. The girl rolled them until she was on top and punched Neo in the face trying to stun him. Goon One was back and trying to get his hands while the leader kept shouting about hurrying up before someone saw.

The girls had obviously forgotten about Magnum because when he barreled into the two girls on top of Neo they both looked shocked. The third girl who had been standing by kicked at Magnum, who grabbed her boot in his teeth and shook his head as violently as a dog with a chew toy and the girl lost her balance collapsing on the ground in a heap with the other two.

"Thanks," Neo said to Magnum.

"Don't mention it, I just don't like unfair fights," the tutor replied.

Neo got up and was watching the girls pick themselves up off the ground. This was just going to go in circles if something didn't give, "Listen, why don't you just tell me what you want and I can refuse before we start this all over again?"

"This kid's tuff Clarisse, he can still fight after all the training he did today." Goon One complained.

"Maybe he's a son of Ares, we should find out before we do something to our own brother," this was Goon Two attempting to reason with the leader, Clarisse, but it looked like it was making her mad.

"I don't care!" Shouted the now red faced Clarisse, she looked even less attractive to Neo when angry. "This twerp is getting his head shoved in the toilet if I have to do it myself." Clarisse pulled out a collapsible spear and pointed it at Neo. A vicious grin spread across her scarlet face as he backed away. "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you, much."

Clarisse was faster then she looked, her strike was too fast for Neo to side step and the flat of the spear hit him in the shoulder. Neo felt the little pin prickles of electricity leave the spear and travel through his body. Instead of making it go numb the prickles were making his limbs wake up and he was feeling much better.

Clarisse noticed he wasn't going down and pulled her spear back to hit him again. Neo was ready when she swung this time. He had summoned his battle batons and blocked her attack with one hand. The fight continued the spear would whiz through the air and the batons would block the strikes. To Neo it was like she was going in slow motion or maybe he was moving faster?

Clarisse was getting tired of him blocking and her next attack was aimed to do damage. Neo could feel the electricity in the spear power up as it headed for his side. That is when Neo suddenly got an idea. He called on the power he felt while fighting the two-headed dog. He realized that it still felt like electric sparks and the ends of the batons crackled with energy. Clarisse's spear met the end of his batons and the power overloaded whatever circuitry the spear had and sent it down the spear and into Clarisse. It was enough power to send her flying back across the ground and bowling into the legs of her sisters electrifying them too and piling them on the ground again. All three girls had been rendered unconscious.

Neo let the batons return to their wrist band form. He turned around when he heard clapping behind him. The campers that had arrived back at the cabins to spend some free time relaxing had seen the fight and where now cheering the victor. A group of people next to cabin 5 were not as cheerful and glared daggers at Neo. Luke walked up and swung an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey man, where did you learn to do that? You need a little more practice but that was awesome!" Luke stated.

"I don't really know. I'm pretty sure I was going on instinct but I have been in a few fights before," Neo stated shyly.

"Well that was cool, come on I think you deserve a cold soda from the mini-frig we keep in the cabin." Luke lead Neo back into the cabin but they both stopped in the entrance in awe.

The room was three times bigger than it had been this morning and everything looked completely new. There were shelves with games and books etc, large couches, and the beds had been moved from the main room. The back wall had a door on each side and next to the doors was a hall way one to the left and the other to the right.

"Wow this is great but isn't this too big for the cabin? Where are the beds?" Luke questioned.

"I don't know, let's find out." Neo walked to the back of the main room and looked in the door on the right. It wasn't a bedroom; on the right side of the room was the game room, which used to be in the Head Councilor's room for the whole cabin. Luke checked the left door and found a small kitchen area. The kitchen counter had a toaster and microwave on the opposite side from the sink, under the sink was a dishwasher and standing next to the counter was a regular sized refrigerator. There was a dining table and chairs separating the kitchen from the game room.

They stepped out of the rooms and looked at each other, Luke silently signaled to Neo to check the right hallway while he checked the left. The left hall had five doors, two on the left, and two on the right and one at the end of the hall. The first room on the right was a large bathroom with a bathtub bigger than a Jacuzzi with different spouts, four different shower stalls, four toilet stalls and two sinks. When Luke looked in the cabinets under the sink the left side was full of toiletries and the right side had enough cleaning supplies to make the CDC happy. There was also a closet full of huge fluffy white towel and washcloths. Luke was impressed and curious about the rest of the rooms. Going down the hall he found rooms that belonged to the Sons of Hermes. The metal plates on the door showed who occupied which room. He checked the rooms he passed and saw that his brother's things had been moved into the correct rooms. When he got to the door at the end of the hall he saw his name. Opening the door he almost fainted, the room was full of his stuff and he could tell that nothing had been disturbed but the room was so much bigger. There was enough space in the room that Luke could have everyone in the cabin in it and still have room to spare.

Neo came walking up and knocked on the door behind Luke. "This room is awesome. I guess this hall is like the other one except that the rooms are for the undetermined campers. The first door on the right is a bathroom too and my door is across from it."

"This is really amazing but who do you think did it? And I'm pretty sure that this is all way too big for the cabin." There was a look of wonder on Luke's face.

Neo didn't want to ruin the surprise so he just shrugged even though he had a good guess. After they had gotten a good look around and joined the other Hermes cabin members in the main room it was a pleasant evening before they went to dinner and then back to the cabin for bed. At dinner Neo sent knowing looks to Sirius and Remus who smiled back at him and silently thanked them. Hermes somehow was able to add his own touch by leaving a large box in the game room that had new games and hand held consoles for everyone. The box made everyone think that it was Hermes who did it all, earning him some major points and the two wizards weren't going to dispute it.

It would be an interesting week for Neo. Even with Chiron gone for the week everything was mostly normal. Constance was nice to him because Neo took the time to treat her well, but he noticed that she was standoffish to anyone else. Argyros and the Pegasus still didn't get along but Neo was able to make them apologize and from then on they stayed away from each other. He was having fun training and Magnum was still as mysterious about his methods but it was slowly working. Neo was able to sense the magic around him if he took the time to concentrate. He took the time to joke around with Sirius and Remus and Chiron had been right, the pranks that had taken place that week were _EPIC_.

The Hermes cabin had been turned hot pink with lime green polka dots, and the members of cabin 11 didn't know who was to blame. The next day when they all sat down in the pavilion except for Neo, his gut telling him it wasn't safe, they found their hair turning bright shades of sunshine yellow, hot pink, neon green and orange. The whole Camp was laughing hard enough to send eggs flying out of their nose or spewing from their mouths. Mr. D found it funny but demanded that whoever did it needed to stop or start getting more creative. That was the wrong thing to say. The whole camp was soon being assaulted by flying green elephants that shot pistachio pudding out of their trunks, and small ducks that roared like lions and vomited out rainbow paint everywhere. It only ended when Remus and Sirius where caught in their own prank courtesy of Neo. Both men had to walk around all day singing love songs and dressed as women wearing high heels, with makeup plastered on their faces and every time they tried to rub it off it just looked worse. The chaos had just calmed down and Neo was thankful for the quiet, but little did he know things would get interesting again with the appearance of a new camper on Monday.

_Author Note: I needed to update this chapter due to writing errors and grammar that one of my reviewers kindly pointed out. I would like to apologize to those that read the chapter with the mistakes and thank everyone that reviewed. Everyone is amazing and I will work diligently to have the next chapter out sometime at the start of next week._


	4. Chapter 3

_Author Note: I'm sorry to everyone who was waiting for this update, but I finally finished, YAY! Up to this point I have been able to move the story along faster than I thought. Unfortunately that may not be possible after this chapter. I will be needing more than a week to write the chapters after this one but as soon as they are done I will be posting them, so don't worry you won't have to wait too long. Thanks for sticking with me! Some of your reviews were very incouraging and I'm so happy that everyone shared what they thought with me._

_Rated M for violence and only a little slash context in this chapter._

_"Blah." = normal speach_

_'Blah.' = thoughts_

_italicized "Blah." = beast speach_

**The Son of Two**

**Chapter 3**

Chiron had returned Friday evening to a cleaner Camp than he had left. All of the buildings had been washed and the cabins had been repainted. He immediately knew something had gone wrong but was not prepared for the wild story that the Head Counselor of Apollo cabin told him. Chiron was thankful that he had been gone and surprised that the campers had done so well at cleaning everything. The news didn't stop there, Luke had greeted Chiron with a genuine smile when he arrived and told him about the improvements Hermes had made to the cabin. It warmed Chiron's heart to see Luke happy after spending such a long time being angry. He didn't let Sirius and Remus get away with their pranks however; he assigned the two to teach Ancient Greek as well as Mythology. "It will hopefully leave you less time to invent outrageous ways to destroy the Camp," the centaur had told the two wizards. It was harder on Sirius because he had to learn Ancient Greek while Remus had studied the language alongside Ancient Latin.

Neo had heard about the boy that showed up Saturday half alive after defeating the Minotaur and dragging an unconscious satyr. The Camp had a knack for spreading gossip so everyone knew about the kid while he was still in the infirmary. It had been two days since the new arrival and it was like the whole Camp was holding its breath. He had been heading up to the Big House to ask Chiron about some tips on sword training, when he saw a boy that must have been the new camper walking next to Chiron. Neo just started walking a few feet behind them as they passed the strawberry field not bothering to make his presence known.

Okay, he would like to say that he wasn't eavesdropping but that would be considered a lie. As Neo followed them their conversation reached him carried by the wind and he couldn't help but hear. The centaur and demigod continued to talk as Chiron showed the boy around and Neo silently followed enjoying a nice walk around the Camp. When the group got to the Hermes cabin Neo noticed the daughter of Athena who would often be seen around Cabin 11.

It wasn't a big secret to Neo that Annabeth had a crush on Luke; it was unmistakable after spending years with two friends who slowly fell in love with each other. He wished them luck but it would be hard for them as long as that feeling of wrongness was still hanging around Luke. Neo had felt it a few more times over the week. When Luke would be tired and stressed out it was hard for Neo to look him in the eyes. The feeling was starting to bother him and he was thinking about asking Remus and Sirius about it.

Before his thoughts wondered too far, he saw the new guy enter Cabin 11 and Chiron turned toward the Archery range. Neo shouted out for Chiron and asked about the lessons which Chiron agreed to give after his masters' archery class.

The training session with Chiron ended with Neo being black and blue. Most of the campers had left the Archery field for the Pavilion. He was putting away his practice sword when he decided to take a leap of faith.

Neo looked over at the old trainer, "Chiron?"

***Break***

That evening Neo arrived at dinner after everyone else. His tardiness did not stop him from hearing about an incident with Percy Jackson, the new camper, and Clarisse involving toilet water washing Clarisse and her two sisters who had attacked Neo the other day out of the girl's bathroom. The other campers had started taking bets on which god was Percy's parent and Neo thought the matter with Clarisse was very telling. The ability to control water was left to Poseidon and those of his domain, so the list had been narrowed down.

Everything that night went as it should. The campers went to their cabins after a few songs around the bonfire. Most of the member's of Hermes cabin had been awed by the fact that when they returned to the cabin a new room had been added for Percy and his things had been moved into the room. Percy was introduced to everyone in the cabin before bed. It was a tired and melancholy Percy that stumbled into Neo as they both walked to their rooms.

"Sorry," Percy mumbled lifting his head to look up at the guy he bumped into. He saw another boy who looked a year or two older than him. Percy was shocked that the guy in front of him had similar coloring to him. The other boys green eyes where a different shade than his and looked like emeralds, and his hair was black. The other guy was handsome, his eyes had some of the mischief that the Sons of Hermes had but his features weren't as sharp maybe it was the attitude of Hermes cabin rubbing off. Percy thought that the other was the first at Camp that looks at least a little like him. It was strange to think that all the demigods at Camp Half-Blood were his cousins in some way.

Neo smiled at the other tired camper, "No worries, mate, I think it was partly my fault. I'm Neo Thorson, and you are?"

"Hey, I'm Percy Jackson, the new guy," the younger boy replied. Percy knew that Neo only asked to be polite because the older boy must have heard his name after everyone at Camp started gossiping about him. The campers here were just as bad as the students at the Academy. Percy gripped the door handle of his room but paused to say, "I must be more tired than I thought. It was cool meeting you. I'll see you later."

"Goodnight Percy," Neo called over his shoulder as he walked into his room. He didn't go to sleep right away however; his mind was turning over the talk he had with Chiron. It was a long talk that boiled down to two facts (1) things were going to get busy soon and (2) it wasn't going to be easy.

***Break***

For the next four days Neo followed Chiron's advice and waited. While he waited he took the time to look through the things that he had brought with him. Opening up his trunk in the privacy of his room Neo went through the new compartments. Hermes had been understating when he said that Hecate had added a few books. The second compartment of his trunk was the size of a private library and full of books. There was no way that he could read all of the books in one summer. Fortunately there was a catalogue that included the titles of all the books in the library. The third compartment didn't have much in it just the bird cage that Argyros was in when they met, the clothes Hecate and Death had bought him, and the leather jacket from Thor which he didn't wear at Camp because there was no need for a jacket, ever.

Neo took two books from the shelves and closed the second compartment. One was a handwritten account of some of the Greek myths. The author of the diary was unknown but if Neo had to guess he would say that it was written by a hunter. The diary recorded stories of the Author facing the Namian Lion, the Hydra and encountering the Furies and many more with details on how to lure them out and kill them. Neo noticed that for monsters some of them were very vain and some were just tragic characters who had a hard life. The diary held a golden fountain of knowledge in its pages and for those three days Neo worked on memorizing it.

The second book that Neo took was actually a collection of Norse myths mostly centered on Thor and Loki. In the book were chronological stories which the author states are the true tales of Thor and Loki. Reading the book Neo felt himself feeling a little embarrassed because of his Father. Thor seemed to be really gullible and very stubborn. Neo thought that if it had not been for his Uncle Loki then Thor would probably be dead a few times over. There was a story that showed the true character of Loki; the story told how he was a brother who cared and used his tricks to teach Thor lessons in humility and Loki was always a friend to his brother in their youth. A question puzzled Neo, if the book was telling the truth then how did everyone else get it so wrong? On the inside of the back cover was a symbol of three interlocking crescent moons but Neo had no clue where it came from.

At night he would study the two books from the trunk library and _The Grimoire of the Battle Magus_ which helped in his lessons with Magnum. The old dog was even more brutal in his exercise regimen by making Neo continue to run the Naiad paths for three hours a day. He was getting better at opening his senses to what was around him and his Mage Sight was slowly evolving into what it was meant to be. They had started practicing his spell casting and it was like learning how to walk again. He knew what his magic had done before and knew that it should work, but it was difficult to direct and power. At first he had trouble casting because he was using too much power and would blow things up. After that he would not give enough power to the spell and it would fizzle out. Magnum always made it more difficult by making him work on more than one spell at a time.

It was slow but Neo had finally managed to understand his mentor's methods. The exercise was to increase his body's stamina and channel his battle instinct so a stealthy opponent would not know that Neo was aware of them because he did not need to look with his eyes. The constant practice of spells was to teach Neo how to determine the power needed for a spell. While casting multiple spells at a time would give him the advantage over multiple enemies. Also channeling that much power into different areas and tasks would build up his power, like when a body builder weight trains. He needed to build the amount of power he could contain and harness at a time. Just because he inherited the power of Thor and Hermes did not mean that he would instantly learn how to use it or that he would be as strong as a god without training to be strong.

Chiron was also training Neo in his spare time. It was mostly lessons over the Greek monsters and how to fight with a sword and shield. He was still clumsy and it was made worse when Chiron decided that it would be better if other demigods helped him train. Two of the children of Athena, one of which was Annabeth, were charged to help him learn battle strategy. When Annabeth spoke to Chiron about giving Neo special attention by training him more than other demigods, Chiron simply said, "I train all of the demigods here, Annabeth, Neo is simply seeking out my help on his own. It is my duty to train young warriors, so who am I to deny training to one who is as driven as young Neo here?"

The two children of Athena were not the only ones Chiron had invited to Neo's training sessions. Three of the Sons of Ares, who were the best from their cabin, where also drafted to help. Of course help is not the right word. Neo was not surprised at what happened during his first lesson with the other three boys only resigned.

_*Flashback*_

Neo was again in the Arena after everyone else had left but Chiron soon joined him. When Neo saw the others that Chiron brought with him he was wondering if he had done something to make Chiron hate him. Behind the ancient Grecian stood three of the largest boys from the Ares cabin; Travis was only 18 and looked like his brothers, as big as a brick house and meaner than a Cerberus with red hair and black eyes, Cole was 18 also and had brown hair, and the last brother was Damien who was a dirty blonde with a horizontal scare across the bridge of his nose and ending under his eyes. Each of the Sons of Ares had vicious grins on their faces. Neo knew that his day was not going to be easy.

After Clarisse's failed attempt at giving him a "swirly" the whole of the Ares cabin had gone out of their way to make his life hard but it also looked like Clarisse and her sisters were getting the same treatment. When Neo had finally had enough he walked up to Clarisse at breakfast and demanded they settle it right there. He would never give a bully the idea that he wasn't going to fight back; he just didn't need to resort to being childish. Harry Potter may have been childish while dealing with his rival Draco, but Neo Thorson was more mature and smarter than many thought. "Clarisse La Rue, I Neo Thorson would like to formally challenge you to a fight. I only have two conditions; the first is that we will only use hand-to-hand combat and the second is that when the fight is over we will officially call a truce between us no matter the winner. Our lives will be full of enemies of one kind or another, and I for one do not want to make an enemy of my family also," he said as his final words before he left.

The outcome of the fight was predictable, Clarisse beat Neo and true to his second condition they called a truce. Most of the children of Ares stayed away from Neo after that, because they now knew Neo would fight back. The rest wanted to see if they could beat him also as a way to show that they were still the strongest. Obviously Travis, Cole and Damien were part of the minority.

The beginning of the lesson was horrible because Neo was barely able to keep the other boys from pounding him into the ground. They took a small brake and during that time Sirius and Remus showed up and waited to watch the rest of the lesson.

During the break Neo was getting angry that he was still so terrible at wielding a sword. He knew that he could fight with the battle batons as easily as waving a wand but all of the swords he tried to use were wrong. He looked at the bands around his wrists. The bands are weapons that had been forged by the Dwarves. Could they become anything other than batons? For the first time Neo gazed intently at the symbol of Thor on the bands and made a wish, 'I wish you could just tell me what you really are'. He felt a change in the atmosphere and he heard his Father's voice.

"My son, you now wield a weapon as mighty as the Legendary Hammer, Mjolnir. The might of this weapon will smite as hard as you desire, whatsoever is before you, and will never fail you. Behold Marvápn, the Weapon of Many Forms. It is up to you to unlock the true potential of this weapon. Its power lies in the strength of your will." Thor's words drifted away and the feeling left him.

His Father had said something that gave him an idea. Neo once heard of a comic book hero who fought crime with the aid of a magic ring that granted him the power to create anything he wanted thru will power. Thor had given him the biggest clue!

Chiron called out that the break was over and the three brothers stood back up in the middle of the Arena flexing their sword arms in a show of battle spirit. Neo didn't bother to pick the practice sword and shield back up, he had a different idea. He walked to the middle of the Arena and stopped in front of Travis. Chiron was about to say something when Neo focused his whole will on summoning a different weapon from Marvápn. A round shield that covered the size of his torso and a sword much larger than the practice swords he has used materialized around his left arm and in his right hand. They were so light that Neo was worried that he had done something wrong.

Chiron raised one brow but called a start to the match. Travis attacked first and Neo raised his shield Travis' sword clanged against the shield but he didn't feel it. The older teens shield moved toward Neo like a battering ram and he side-stepped and had to dodge as Cole swung his sword at Neo's arm and tried to trip him then Damien joined in. Neo had to stay on the defensive but an opportunity presented itself when Travis lowered his guard and Neo thrust his sword toward his side. Travis was able to block with his shield in time but Neo's sword cut right through his shield and the shield was split in half. Everyone paused when the metal hit the ground.

"What the heck, man? You totally just ruined my shield!" Travis yelled.

"Oh, wow! I'm sorry but I had no idea my sword could do that!" the surprise and excitement Neo felt made his words sound less sincere then they were meant to be.

Travis threw down the remains of his shield and screamed, "You're so dead punk," and charged at Neo with his sword raised. Neo raised his shield and deflected Travis' blow to the side. The charging teen lost his balance as his momentum shifted to the side Neo tripped him as he went by and Travis landed hard knocking the air out of his lungs. Cole used the flat of his blade against Neo's sword but instead of making him move his arm and expose an opening the training sword was cut in two as it passed across Neo's sword.

'Wicked it's like it can cut anything!' Neo's thought had him thinking the sword could be too dangerous to use in this fight. Damien attacked from the left and Neo raised his shield, again not feeling the blow from the sword against his shield.

Cole and Travis made a quick trip across the Arena to the stands for the practice weapons. Forgoing a shield this time Travis picked up one of the heavier broadswords. Cole decided he would choose two of the short swords. They rejoined the fray ready to fight twice as hard as before.

Neo was learning quickly and thankfully able to keep up. He was slowly pushing the other three back, which of course is when it has to go wrong.

Neo loves Sirius in a way that anyone else would love their family but with the words that came out of Sirius' mouth Neo was contemplating the many quick and quiet ways to dispose of a body in the woods.

"Great job, Neo, you're showing them!" cheered the excited godfather. "Hey you, with the stupid look on your face, oh wait there are three of you!" Sirius cackled at his joke. "You with the broken shield, I thought you were supposed to be a Son of Ares the god of war, not the god of getting your butt kicked!"

Those words caused the Sons of Ares to become even more cross than their permanently sour attitude and Travis was the first one to attack Neo. Their swords clashed in a lock and the other two brothers took their chance to attack, one swung his sword down on Neo's sword arm and the other aimed for his leg. Both attacks cut Neo before he was able to throw Travis off him. The injury on his arm stung and the cut across his thigh throbbed when he tried to use the leg as support.

"Ha," Sirius barked out, "That's nothing; my godson will pound you into the dirt before you can go crying to your Daddy! Go get them Neo!"

"Shut up, Sirius, you're not helping!" Neo yelled at the man who was obviously trying to get him killed.

Remus had seized Sirius in a headlock and was using one hand to cover his mouth. "Sorry, Neo, I've got him now just be careful."

The fight thankfully was ended by Chiron a few minutes later when he thought Neo had learned enough in the practice that day. The four young men had exhausted themselves and the three brothers decided it wasn't worth trying to beat up the other camper any longer because it was almost dinner time.

Sirius came loping up to Neo with Remus behind him. "Well done, pup! That was a great job for just starting lessons last week. I knew you had those three lumps the whole time."

Neo gave Sirius a deadpan look and looked at Remus. Seeing Neo's face Remus reached a hand up and smacked Sirius across the back of his head.

"Ouch! What was that for, Remus?" Sirius yelped.

Remus glared at his old friend, "You know what that was for, Sirius, honestly. Tell me what part of your brain gave you the bright idea to goad three older boys with more training while they were fighting Neo."

Sirius' reply was lost to Neo when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. It was Luke, "That wasn't half bad, man. I was wondering what you were up to during your free time. Now I feel bad that I couldn't give you any help lately, you're getting better every time I see you."

"Oh no worries, you still help when you're giving lessons to everyone. I just asked Chiron for help because I really didn't have anything else to do while I was free. When I was younger I really never got to play video games or sports so I decided to try to make sure the next time I have to face Clarisse she doesn't leave her boot print on my backside." Neo joked. He actually didn't want to worry Luke because he wasn't looking so good these days. It wasn't a drastic change but Neo knew that Luke wasn't really himself lately.

"Come on Neo, now I feel like I have to teach you how to have fun too."Luke smirked at the younger boy but it made him feel bad to have forgotten about Neo. Luke was distracted when he heard the two men beside them get louder.

"…and that's not the point Sirius. You need to understand that Neo is a young man now. He may have faced a lot of things already but he is _still_ young and we don't need to go making trouble for him!" Remus voiced louder than usual.

"I do understand that Remus but like you said he's already been through a lot. I don't think we should be molly coddling him all of the time!" Sirius replied.

"Molly coddling him, I'll have you know that I was the one who taught him how to defend himself from soul sucking demons! At least I'm not trying to get him killed! What are you really trying to say Sirius?" Remus did a very good impression of a hissing cat for a man that was once a werewolf.

"Well, I wasn't trying to say anything but what do you mean I'm trying to get him killed? All I was doing was showing support for him. I noticed you were just standing there watching. Would it have killed you to at least tell him he was doing well?"

"I didn't want to distract him! I was going to tell him that he did a very good job today after his practice and then you had to start this pointless argument!"

"Whoa dude," Luke whispered to Neo trying to stay out of the notice of the arguing men. "Do they always act like a married couple?"

Neo glanced at Luke and smirked. "Nope, I'm sure they would make terrible actors. Come on it may take them a minute and I want to get cleaned up," Neo said as he led them toward their cabin.

Luke just raised his eyebrow, "Oh! Really?" he glanced back at the two wizards and then joined the younger boy. "I'll get the first aid for you. That cut on your leg is still bleeding."

_*End Flashback*_

Today was Friday which was always the day that Camp Half-Blood scheduled time to play Capture the Flag. Most of the daily activities were over and the campers were suited up in their armor ready for Chiron to start things. Neo had pulled his jacket out of his trunk which was now a set of battle armor that almost looked Greek without the cape, and made sure he could remember the spells and things he had learn while he thought about the sword and shield he would be summoning later.

The centaur walked to the edge of the gathering of youths. "Campers, Warriors, and Heroes, I need your attention all! Today as you all know we will be playing Capture the Flag." Chiron paused to let the cheering die down, "The rules are the same as they have been; no maiming, prisoners of war cannot be tied up only disarmed or left unconscious, the boundary line is the stream and the forest is fair game, magical items and weapons are allowed, and only two guards are permitted to defend the team flag. Now you have all met our newest campers Neo, Percy, please step forward." The two boys walked up to Chiron.

Neo held out his fist in a friendly gesture to Percy who bumped it with his own fist. "I think you can relax, Chiron did say no maiming after all." Neo whispered to Percy.

Chiron continued his announcement "As they are new here Neo and Percy will need some guidance and a team, is there a team that will take these fine warriors?"

Luke spoke up and said that the blue team would take them. Everything went quickly after that, the flags were already placed and Luke had instructed Percy and Neo to stay close to him. The game started and Neo was able to stay beside Luke until they ran into members of the red team. Luke was amazing in his skill and Neo was sad they never got around to training.

Before they knew what was going on Percy and Neo were running through the forest without Luke hopefully toward the direction of the flag. When they came to the stream Percy dropped his shield exhausted and Neo, who let his shield reform into a band, was even happier that Magnum was such a task master when he found he wasn't as tired as the other teen. Noticing the water seemed to perk up the other demigod Neo was almost certain that Percy was the son of a water god.

Percy looked up and the surprise on his face made Neo look as well. Right there in front of them was the Red team's flag. Neo followed Percy across the water but his instincts said it was an ambush so he activated his Mage Sight in time to pull Percy out of the way when he saw an attack coming through the invisibility enchantment that Annabeth was under. He watched as she removed a baseball cap from her head and quickly tucked it away in her pocket.

"Did you really think it was going to be that easy? I'll give you credit for having good reflexes but this is as far as you go boys." Annabeth was in a defensive position.

That's when Neo thought about it, two people were supposed to be guarding the flag. He was ready when a spear flew towards him through the air and he rolled across the ground as Clarisse came running from behind the trees. Clarisse was able to get her spear back but now the girls were between Percy and Neo with Annabeth facing Neo and Clarisse glaring down Percy.

The fight began when Clarisse made a move toward Percy. Annabeth guarded Neo who stepped forward to stop Clarisse and he knew that Percy was on his own. Neo waited for Annabeth to make the first move. The fight between them was predictable. Neo knew he had more patience then Annabeth who would think that she was better than him because of experience and battle intellect. The thing that Annabeth forgot was that she taught Neo the way that she thought and even though he may not be a strategist he could use her previous teachings to predict her moves. She attacked first and Neo countered the first blow deflecting the attack to the right and then sending a left hook at her face. When she went to block with her arm Neo pulled his hand back and grabbed her wrist pulling her toward him surprising Annabeth. He used the move to send a head butt that left Annabeth clutching her forehead in pain.

"OW! By the gods! What is your head made of cement?!" Annabeth cried as her head throbbed in agony. It really did feel like she had just ran into a concrete wall and she couldn't stop the tears that started to run down her checks.

Neo was extremely sorry when he saw her crying in pain. "I'm so sorry, Annabeth, can I help? How much pain are you in?"

Annabeth laughed wetly because Neo was cute when he acted like a mother hen and she would have been sorry for making him worry if it wasn't for her terrible headache. "I think I'll be fine, if you never do that again, I mean ever."

That's when Neo heard Clarisse scream. He and Annabeth looked over and watched Percy knock Clarisse out but they both saw the real problem. Lying on the ground was Clarisse's spear but it had been broken.

The cry must have alerted the other members of the Red team because they quickly came to see what had happened. With Clarisse down Percy moved toward the Red flag but Annabeth despite her pain blocked his path again and after she pushed him back she left him on the ground next to the stream. The Red team was celebrating what they thought was Percy's defeat when Neo sensed the power targeting Percy and the sound of an unnatural wind passing his ear. He watched as Percy turned toward the water and dipped his hand in. The water seemed to wash away his wounds and Percy got back up. Everyone around them seemed to gasp as a symbol made of green light formed above Percy's head. It was a three-pronged spear; the Trident, symbol of Poseidon, god of the Sea, Earth-Shaker, and Master of horses.

Percy glanced at the spot above his head where everyone was staring and saw the symbol. Realizing that it would be a good opportunity to get the flag he started walking closer. When the Sons of Ares went to stop Percy Neo stepped forward to guard his back. Cole, Travis and Damien were facing him again but this time Neo had something up his sleeve. He had practiced changing Marvápn into its sword form and a funny thought popped into his head. The bands could become anything he wanted, right, but does that also mean that they could be any size?

The Sons of Ares watched as the sword in Neo's hands seemed to grow and it became a sword of almost comical proportions. The blade was almost as tall as he was and had a grip that was long enough to grip with both hands but Neo still only held it in one. The advancing warriors quickly backed away.

Neo gave a roguish grin, "What?" he drawled and taunted "Don't tell me you're intimidated because mine's bigger?" Neo didn't know it but at that time his eyes had the same look as Magnum's when the old dog was ready to fight and his smile was just as wolf-like. Not wanting to look bad the others started to advance again but less of them faced Neo than before when they noticed he could wield the great sword just as easily as a normal sword.

Percy almost dispatched the warriors on his own and Annabeth wasn't as successful defeating him a second time. Percy claimed the flag and crossed the stream. Another round of cheers went up but it was from the Blue team this time. The jubilation was cut short when all Hell broke loose; well it was just one Hellhound actually.

A loud growl reverberated around the clearing and all of those gathered looked up to see a giant black wolf. The wolf was as big as a tank and its eyes were a glowing red. Neo may have never met a Hellhound but one was baring its teeth down at them from the cliff above them. Chiron quickly called out to the Archers to draw their bows but Neo was the only one who noticed that the beast was focused on Percy. It launched itself into the air and hit the ground running it barreled thru the campers around it and came toward Percy, who stood frozen in terror. That's when Neo acted; he stepped in front of Percy and stared down the beast.

He knew that what he was about to do was stupid but worth a try, "Stop!" he said firmly. For a second it seemed to work and the Hellhound faltered but it didn't last. It charged straight toward him and he swung the great sword at it. The wolf-shaped Hellhound was fast enough to dodge the attack but instead of raising his sword again Neo punched it in the jaw and actually sent the beast stumbling back. Neo stood straight with his chest out and head high. It was a pose he knew worked with canines to make a person seem bigger and the hellhound actually whimpered.

"_Zoul does not want to fight you, Alpha; Zoul is only here to kill the runt. It is Zoul's command._" The voice of the hound actually sounded like a child and surprised Neo.

An arrow pierced the side of the hound and it yelped in pain. Neo had to think fast, something was going on and the hellhound knew what it was, "Hold your fire! Wait!"

The young hound had faltered again but Percy had moved out from behind Neo and it went to attack the other demigod. His mind was screaming at him to make the beast talk so instead of swinging his sword Neo jumped at the Hellhound's side colliding with it and after dropping his sword he brought his arms around its neck pinning it on the ground.

The giant jaws of the hound snapped trying to bite him and all four of Zoul's legs were scrambling to get Neo off but the demigod held on even tighter. He was determined to get Zoul to answer his questions but he needed the Hellhound to listen to him first. It took about three minutes for the wolfhound to calm. When it didn't show any signs of continuing to fight Neo was ready to see if his idea was going to work.

"Stay," he commanded when he started to loosen his arms. When Zoul continued to lay there he slowly got to his feet. The Wolf-Hellhound was lying still on its side. Its tongue was lolling out of its mouth as it took in great heaving pants of air.

Neo held out his hand to summon Marvápn. Zoul caught the gleam of the light off the blade, closed his eyes and whimpered piteously but Neo commanded the sword to turn into a band again.

Everything was calm until Percy stepped forward. The ears on the giant wolf perked up and he started to growl from his position on the ground. Neo again stepped between them and Zoul was quiet again.

"Who sent you," he asked in a calm voice but he too was taking in great gulps of air.

"_The one who stinks of Tartarus called Zoul,_" it was the same childish voice but it sounded smaller now, like a chastised child. "_He made Zoul hunt down the runt._"

"Alright, I will make you a deal. You forget the order to hunt Percy and I will let you return to the Underworld after I pull out the arrow and heal your wound, but if you attack again I will send you back in pieces." Neo didn't want to sound cruel but it was better to speak plainly to a creature as young as Zoul seemed to be. He was getting flashbacks of talking to Dobby and he felt the ache of losing his friend.

"_Zoul will do what Alpha says._"

Neo stepped forward and pulled out the arrow it was easy to quickly heal the small wound due to having to patch himself up the last few days. It only took a few seconds and then they both got up from the ground. The Hellhound acted like an oversized puppy as it licked his face and whined happily.

Neo chuckled, "Now go on you." Zoul walked around him and glanced at Percy but continued on into the shadow of a tree where he seemed to fade into the darkness.

That was when it happened, a moment that Neo had been anticipating and dreading in equal measure. Above his head three symbols materialized; the Caduceus shimmering silver, a Hammer glowing electric blue like lightning suspended in mid-air, and a pentagram glowing purple. Hermes, Thor and Hecate had finally claimed their son.

***Break***

Some people might think that it would be cool to be the son of two gods and the adopted son of a goddess but it really wasn't. For the next few days, it was like Neo had suddenly grown two heads and the second one was screaming that it was going to kill everyone. None of the campers would get within ten feet of him. The only ones that treated him like normal were Sirius, Remus, Chiron, Magnum and surprisingly Mr. D. It made sense why Dionysus didn't care, the prospect of the gods killing Neo would mean he had one less camper and if they didn't then he would still be the camp Director. The other members of his Cabin acted so awkward around him that he took his things, which had magically moved over to his new room on the Sons of Hermes side of the cabin, and started camping in the woods. Meals where just as bad so he started coming in getting a plate and heaping it with generous amounts of food. Then he would make his sacrifices to the gods, and go back outside to find a quiet place to eat.

Then there was Percy, it wasn't easy on him being a son of the Big Three as Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades where called. When Neo talked to Chiron about why the campers where treating Percy differently too, the old mentor told him about the Oath the three brothers had made. Chiron then took him to a more private spot on the beach and told him about the Master Bolt being stolen and how Zeus was convinced that it was Percy. Chiron was also afraid that now the gods knew about Neo they would think he had stolen it too. It wasn't like he actually had an opportunity to do it but the gods could be as paranoid as Mad-Eye apparently.

Neo kept hearing the whispers that just got more outrageous as the days went by. The demigods that Chiron had asked to practice with Neo suddenly had loads of things to do in their spare time and couldn't train with him any longer. This gave Chiron and Magnum the chance to train him at the same time.

They finally got down to cataloguing his abilities. He had Atmokinesis or Weather Control meaning he could actually create storms or summon lightning and it had been fun practicing to fly. All of Neo's senses were heightened along with his reflexes. His magic was stable enough to use the spells he had already learned, and his Mage Sight was clear enough to see the words of power that formed the barrier around the Camp. The most noticeable thing was his new Super Strength. Chiron had explained to him that only the legendary Hercules was ever strong enough to defeat a monster with his bare hands. Neo was also noticing that he could lift things he would never have been able to before like the giant hundred pound boulder that tried to squash him when he was practicing on the Climbing Walls. The boulder was heading right for him and Neo was left with no time to dodge so he braced himself and instinctively put his hands in front of him. When the boulder reached him he was able to hold it instead of becoming a Neo pancake. He was also able to discover he had the ability to Teleport like Death. While he hurried to the Arena one day he was praying that he wouldn't be late and have to suffer through Chiron punishing him with endless drills when suddenly he found himself stepping through the outer columns into the Arena. He was able to practice his teleporting after that and slowly he could teleport farther and farther distances. He was also able to make the invisibility power of his ring work.

Neo kept training until the day that Percy Jackson got a quest. Neo had been ready for something to happen. Percy now knew about what was going on in Olympus and was going to find the Master Bolt. While Percy was busy getting ready for his quest Chiron went to Neo and gave him his instructions. Neo would need to leave while everyone was distracted with Percy's quest.

He packed a bag full of supplies like food, water, clothes, a first aid and potions kit, and included his wizard tent. Chiron also gave him a bag full of Drachmas "for an emergency". Neo called Argyros who was enjoying his time in the forest at Camp. He let the falcon know that he was going and Argyros agreed to follow in case he was needed.

Before the young demigod left Chiron voiced that he wanted Magnum to accompany him. The canine tutor was against this for some reason but didn't bother saying why, in the end Magnum agreed to go as his guide. One of the last things the ancient mentor had mentioned was that because it would be a mission for a demigod, Remus and Sirius were not allowed to accompany him. Neo was a little worried, he had gone up against a lot of things alone but he had always had a friend who came along for the journey.

Just because they couldn't go didn't mean Sirius and Remus were going to let him leave without giving him things to help his journey. Sirius was letting Neo take his old motorcycle (which Sirius had shrunk) for when he needed a quick getaway. He also handed Neo a locket on an unbreakable chain that had an expansion charm so he could put the bag he already had inside. Remus gave him a magical lighter that would always light, even underwater.

Neo was ready to leave at noon but it took a while to say goodbye to Sirius and Remus. He looked completely unprepared but he hopefully had more than he needed. Neo had on his matching boots and jacket, his cell phone and Remus' lighter were tucked away in his pockets, Marvápn was in band form around his wrists, the Death Ring was on his left hand, the locket around his neck and all the knowledge from the three books Hecate had given him was memorized. He was ready to go with Argyros on his shoulder and Magnum by his side. Sirius had already taught Neo how to drive his motorcycle when they were still in the wizarding world. So he and Magnum would be taking the motorcycle to the nearest OPS store in New York to find Hermes.

It was an easy ride along the road to New York City with only one small bump in the road. As they left Camp and were only a few miles down the road, Neo noticed a snake slithering across the blacktop. As they got closer the snake slowly seemed to double in size and then triple it kept growing until it was almost 30 feet long. The snake raised its head up ready to strike at Neo who kept driving when he got about ten feet away the snake struck but he had turned Marvápn into a shield and the snakes fangs bounced harmlessly off of the shield and the magical motorcycle drove over the snake turning it to dust.

Neo had slowly turned to look at Magnum with his brows raised.

"Don't look at me kid, sometimes the monsters are stupid." His trainer had growled surly. "It's just insulting when one of them gets taken out because they were standing in the middle of the street."

They slowly navigated the streets of New York and found the right place. Neo pulled over and turned the bike off. After Magnum got out of the side car Neo cast a notice me not charm and shrunk the bike to place safely in the locket. They walked to the door with the charm still in place.

"Do you think he's here?" Neo asked quietly.

"Oh he's here alright I already caught a good whiff of him, it smelled like trouble." The tutor replied.

As they stepped through the door Neo lifted the charm and spotted two people at the counter and the one in the mailman uniform was definitely his Dad.

_Author Note: I totally had fun righting that. If anyone has questions, coments or ideas please tell me I really want to hear from you. I want to tell you guys that I'm sorry I will be updating less frequently but that means that I get more time to make the next chapter even better, right? Thanks for reading! Until next time! :)_


	5. Chapter 4

_A.N.: Full disclaimer can be found in Prologue and Chapter 1: I do not own anything remotely recognizable in this story except for some plot concepts and a few original characters who are merely there for my entertainment (insert evil laugh). Please read the author note at the end of this chapter._

_Rated M for violence and only a little slash context found as a joke (I know, I have a weird sense of humor)._

_"Blah." = normal speech_

_'Blah.' = thoughts_

_italicized "Blah." = beast speech_

**The Son of Two**

**Chapter 4**

It was a little funny when Neo thought about it. Hermes has been the messenger of the gods since he was born and a Postman is a messenger, but seeing Hermes in his brown uniform made for an interesting sight. Neo wondered what the other gods looked like when they were blending in with mortals.

The customer that was there when they entered completed his business and left.

"Hey son," Hermes greeting was actually directed away from Neo as he lifted a package onto the shelf behind the counter. "You haven't sent me a message yet. How has Camp been, meet any cute girls?" Hermes traveled to the other side of the counter and lifted up the hinged section to exit the work area. He walked behind Neo and thru the door with large red letters spelling out "Employees Only" and gestured for Neo and Magnum to follow. "What am I talking about you're my son, I bet you had one on each arm the whole time, right?"

"Actually no, I didn't find any of the girls that attractive, but Chiron now…" Neo said innocently.

Hermes stopped and turned around so fast he was a blur, "What!?" he spluttered.

A Cheshire grin spread on Neo's face from ear to ear, "Just joking," he sing-songed.

Hermes audibly sighed, "Oh thank the stars you almost gave me a heart attack, kid." Magnum gave a chuckle disguised as a bark.

"Sorry but I needed to have a little fun. I have to tell you something important…" Neo began but Hermes interrupted him.

"Yeah, I think I know what it is, but let's step into my office first." When the office door was closed Hermes spoke again. "I already found out that it was one of your brothers who stole the Master Bolt."

"So Luke did steal the Bolt," Neo murmured.

"Wait you didn't know?" Hermes was surprised, "Then what were you going to tell me?"

"I was going to tell you that Luke was being possessed by an evil spirit from Tartarus."

Hermes almost toppled to the floor before gaining his balance, "What? Okay start from the beginning, what did you find out?" Hermes took a seat behind his desk and Neo took the one in front leaning his arms on the polished wood. The atmosphere had taken a sharp plummet into a somber attitude.

"I started noticing it the first day I got to Camp. Chiron introduced us to Luke and when I looked him in the eye I got a feeling like everything was wrong and it made me sick. It took awhile to notice everything else after that. He's been getting really tired lately. Luke is pretty good at making sure the rest don't know and if I hadn't gotten that feeling I'm sure he would have fooled me too. Then I realized that he's forgetting things, just little things but I think it's because he is actually being controlled. I've had to deal with this before and during the last Wizard War. The last thing that I found out was actually from the mouth of a Hellhound that tried to kill the Son of Poseidon. It said that someone who smelled like Tartarus had summoned it. You said the Barrier protects the Camp from monsters, so if it was summoned the person had to be in the Camp, right?" Neo paused for confirmation because he hadn't spoken to anyone who would know if it was true.

"Yes, the Barrier even keeps out the other gods and myself," Hermes confirmed. "Dionysus is exempt because he's the Camp Director and Hestia is allowed there because she maintains the Hearth."

"So the girl that got swallowed by the fire one morning…"

"Yep, that was Hestia."

"Oh, cool! ...where was I? Someone in the Camp had to summon the Hellhound and Tartarus is the place in the Underworld for the worst souls. So I put everything together the bad feeling was a soul trying to steal Luke's energy and corrupting his life force. I actually told Chiron about my feeling after our first practice…"

_*Flashback*_

_The training session with Chiron ended with Neo being black and blue. Most of the campers had left the Archery field for the Pavilion. He was putting away his practice sword when he decided to take a leap of faith._

_Neo looked over at the old trainer, "Chiron?"_

"Yes, child?"

"Do you remember when I told you about Voldemort and how he was able to return after he died?"

"Yes, I believe you said that he used magic to anchor his soul to this plan by taking pieces and putting them in enchanted items. Why do you ask, Neo?" Chiron stood calmly to the side as he waited a moment for the child to organize his thoughts.

"I'm not really sure," he had to stop and think for a moment. His thoughts were buzzing and he was slowly coming to frightening conclusions, "but while my friends and I were hunting down those items I was able to sense them more strongly after awhile. I'm pretty sure it was my power starting to develop. His soul was evil and broken; it would give me this sick feeling sometimes. I keep getting that feeling, here, at Camp and I'm really worried. I wasn't sure until I started talking to you, but I think I'm right. There is another dark soul that's stealing life from people and trying to control them, and I'm pretty sure who its target is, it's Luke, Chiron. He's in danger!" Neo was becoming more convinced as he spoke that the wrongness he had been feeling was a dark soul hanging around Luke, stealing and feeding on his energy just like Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Chiron's hooves stomped against the ground anxiously and his tail lashed through the air. "What do you mean?" he asked alarmed.

"I got the feeling the first time I saw Luke. There is some kind of dark soul that is trying to steal his energy like some virus. That must be why he's so tired and depressed lately. It's almost the same thing that happened to my friend. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will try to hurt Luke. What do we do Chiron?"

There was a pensive look on Chiron's face and it took him a few minutes to answer. "You are right Neo, we must help Luke but we must keep it quiet. It would take a powerful and cunning soul to escape the Lord of the Underworld's notice so we need to be cautious. As for who could help I think I know who to ask. I believe this is what we need to do…"

_*End Flashback*_

"I didn't want to jump to conclusions so I spent my time watching everyone. No one else showed the same signs or gave off the same bad feeling as Luke. So Luke has a soul leach from Tartarus that was able to attach itself to him at some point. I don't know when or where and that's not important, but we already know the why. Luke must have stolen the Master Bolt and Chiron explained that its disappearance is about to make Olympus go to War. So whatever the soul is it's using Luke to cause a War between the gods which would lead to them killing each other. That is why Luke is being possessed; the only problem is we don't know how or by whom. Tartarus is in the Underworld where only Hades, his minions and the dead can go so at least that narrows it down." When Neo was finished he sighed and fell back into his chair completely drained of energy. "Chiron thinks you can help me get to the people who will help get rid of the soul possessing Luke. That's why I'm here. I only had an idea that it could have been Luke that stole the Master Bolt but I don't think he has it anymore. Luke's room is completely open to the rest of the Cabin in case someone needs him so he's not hiding anything at Camp."

"That's something I can help fill in," Hermes interjected. "As messenger I hear all of the gossip and see mostly everything that goes on in Olympus."

Hermes paused to answer a call gesturing to Neo to give him a minute. The call lasted a short time and Hermes put the phone back in his pocket. "Anyway, the Bolt went missing after the start of the Summer Solstice. Well the only ones on Olympus at the time were the gods and our servants, or at least that's what everyone remembers. The whole of Olympus overlooked the fact that Camp Half-Blood actually had the year-round campers there on a field trip. Zeus noticed the Bolt missing soon enough but the campers had already left the Throne room and were forgotten. The best trackers on Olympus where sent to look for it so a lot of stones had been overturned before I got to them, but I was able to piece the rest together which took me longer than I expected. Ares actually intercepted Luke before he got away. I figured that out when one of the servants of Olympus mentioned that Ares was actually being nice to one of the campers. I guess he was pleased that he had found the Bolt but for some reason instead of taking it back to Zeus, Ares thought it would be a good idea to go on a date and lose it."

"Uh, I think he needs to hold off, I have enough trouble with Clarisse," Neo groused.

"Actually he was with Aphrodite, everyone know they are having an affair, it's old news. I found out about their date when Aphrodite complained to Hera that she couldn't find her favorite scarf to go along with the robe she was wearing, the same scarf I remember her wearing the day that Zeus lost his Bolt, and the two notorious lovers had disappeared for a while that evening. Ares also stopped sporting around his shield after that day for some reason, but Hephaestus on the other hand has been acting overly happy the last few months. So I had to do some detective thinking too. If Ares intercepted Luke and took the Master Bolt, then went on a date with Aphrodite he must have hidden it on him. His shield and Aphrodite's scarf have gone missing and after searching all over Olympus no one has found the Bolt. So he must have hidden it in his shield which is not on Olympus before it was lost. The only thing that would make him unable to retrieve his shield is if it was someplace he couldn't go. I'm willing to bet that the reason Hephaestus is so happy is because he set a trap for Ares and Aphrodite. He's always trying to catch those to love birds together and it's kind of funny when he does, it always goes live to Olympus and everyone is laughing for weeks. So I'm betting if you find the shield you find the Bolt and I know where the shield is." Hermes smirked at Neo like a cat that caught the canary. "You should be able to get it and return it to Olympus while I help you find whoever you need to exorcize the spirit from Luke. It's a win, win for team Hermes!"

"Not exactly," at Neo's words Hermes deflated.

"What do you mean?"

"Percy Jackson is already on a quest to retrieve the Master Bolt. He got a prophecy from the Oracle and everything, so he is the one who has to return it, but they don't know any of the things we do, which means we're already ahead of the game." Neo informed his father.

"Hmm…" Hermes had a contemplative look on his face, "Well Ares should still be looking for a way to retrieve his shield out of Hephaestus' trap. He'd probably search out the nearest demigod to find it and Percy's quest will be big news so Ares will probably look for the kid and have him retrieve the shield… We need to get you there first." Hermes finished.

"What, that's not part of my quest, why do I need to get the shield?" It wasn't that Neo didn't want to help but he was a little more worried about his brother than Zeus throwing a temper tantrum.

"Because if Ares gets the shield back before you can retrieve the Bolt, it will be a lot harder for Percy to get the Bolt from him, you wouldn't leave another demigod hanging, would you?" Hermes gave an obviously fake look of disappointment.

"Alright," Neo knew he was falling for Hermes guilt trip but it would be better for a third party to interrupt whatever scheme a god of War is planning then to ever give a War god what he wants. "I don't know what you think I can do, though."

"Getting the shield will be easy you can use your ring for that." Neo gave him a questioning look, "It doesn't just give you the power to turn invisible. You actually have the power to cross the divide between the living realm and the spirit world now, and no one will see you, not even the spirits on the other side. Death will still be able to sense you because you two are connected. Actually she's the one who explained it all to me. The ring is a tether between you and Death so she will always be looking out for you."

"Wow that's brilliant, but you said getting it would be easy, what's the hard part?"

"Haven't you figured that out kid?" Magnum's grumbling voice interrupted whatever Hermes would have said.

The god jumped in surprise, "Whoa, I forgot you were there!"

Magnum just gave his patented glare and moved on, "You two are pretty smart when you put your minds to finding something out, but you still need practice at your thieving skills. What your old man's trying to say is, the stealing is easy but it will be harder to convince Ares that the Bolt is still in the shield when he gets it back. You'll need to replace it with a fake that will be powerful enough to convince him that it's really the original. The hard part is making a copy as powerful as the Master Bolt without blowing yourself to kingdom come if you screw up."

Neo looked at his Dad perplexed and Hermes just shrugged his reply, "Uh, first of all, the dog can talk!? And second, yeah that's a little blunt but that's what we need."

"So how are we going to make a copy?" Neo wasn't sure he wanted to know but it sounded like a good idea.

Magnum was actually the one who answered his question again, "It will have to be done in three steps but it's doable. First we need enough power that it convinces Ares that it's powerful. It will have to have enough juice for a god's symbol of power but I think enough for a major lightning storm will do."

"Oh, just a major lightning storm, huh? That sound so easy," Neo replied sarcastically, "and where are we going to get enough power for a lighting storm?"

Magnum narrowed his eyes and replied with a growl, "I don't like your tone kid."

"Actually I can help with that," Hermes said, trying to defuse the situation. He got out of his chair and walked over to the different knickknacks on his shelves. "Now this is a collector's item." He pulled down something that looked like a big glass jar of light. "Behold Tesla's Lightning in a Jar, this baby's got all the energy of three major lightning storms stored in it and I think it will work just fine."

Neo nodded and looked at Magnum, "Okay, so that's step one. What else?"

"Well the second thing is to find a conduit that will hold the energy safely and won't break or explode while you're working on the third step. The third thing you need to do is transfigure the conduit into a replica of the Master Bolt. It won't be easy because the Bolt is more like a stationary lightning bolt than a solid shape. You would have to combine a powerful illusion, and non-animate to animate transfiguration so that the conduit looks and acts like a lightning bolt." The magus master explained.

"Okay, yeah that sounds like a great plane but you're missing the part where I have no idea how to make a real lightning bolt replica," Neo said.

"Alright I get that you're feeling a little overwhelmed right now, which is the only reason I haven't used you as a chew toy but if you don't stop with the attitude that's going to change," Magnum warned. "It's not going to be easy but the one thing I've started to like about you is you're a fast learner. You've practiced transfiguration before; the only difference is your end product was always a solid shape. To transfigure something into an element of nature you have to focus five times harder and use at least ten times the power if you want get anything at all. But don't jump the gun kid. First we need a conduit that can hold that much power and be strong enough to maintain the form longer than a few seconds. If you could get a large crystal that can channel the power it should be able to absorb the spells and not turn you into ash."

"I've got one of those!" Hermes said in excitement. The god walked out of the office and returned a second later as if he had only walked outside and back in but he was now holding a crystal the size of a basketball.

"That'll do," Magnum murmured, then the old trainer addressed the others, "Well we better get started now because I'm not sure how long this will take. We're going to need a room that has more open space."

***Break***

It had taken almost four hours to make a replica and Neo felt like he was going to collapse. Thankfully it was a success and the fake passed Hermes inspection when it was complete.

Hermes led Neo out of the spare room used for extra space during the holidays and back to the office where he gave him some Ambrosia and Nectar to replenish his strength. Magnum and Hermes were having a conversation across the room and Neo focused on his glass of nectar. The taste was amazing and lulled him into a state of bliss. It didn't take him long to finish the drink but his peace was disturbed when he heard a voice in his mind.

"_Neo,_" Death's voice whispered in his ear.

Neo's vision had instantly gone black and it felt like his body was floating in an abyss. It was completely black around him until a small light started illuminating the darkness. The light grew but didn't seem to be getting closer, only brighter as if filling out some sort of outline. He slowly saw the form of Death appear. Her hair was floating like a veil behind her and she was made up of light like a star shining in the night sky. Even thought she seemed far away Neo felt her presence like a warm hug and he could smell her unique scent. It was the smell of fresh flowers and turned soil that curled around his senses.

"_Neo, you must hurry,_" Death spoke softly across the vast darkness, "_There is another task you must complete before the end of the Summer Solstice._"

"What task?"

"_There is one here who seeks the help of the Master of Death. Hurry Neo, only you have the power to help._" Death's voice got softer as the light faded and when the last word was spoken the light had gone.

He slowly opened his eyes to see that Hermes was standing in front of him with a curious brow raised.

"Did you say something?" Neo asked his father.

"It's time to go; I just got a message from Olympus that a meeting has been called. While you were busy making the fake, I delivered the message that Percy received the prophecy and will be leaving tomorrow morning. This gives you the chance to retrieve the Bolt while both Ares and Hephaestus are busy glaring at each other across the Throne Room."

That was when Neo saw Hermes had changed his clothes into silver armor, which looked like it was from Ancient Greece, over a silver tunic. "I have to go now but you already know where to go from here so just be careful," Hermes gave him a quick hug and handed Neo the box that they had put the replica in. "I'll see you soon, kid." Hermes smiled brightly and was gone before Neo could blink.

***Break***

It didn't take more than two hours to get to the Theme Park where the Shield of Ares was located, but they still arrived after sunset. Neo had used the fastest method of travel between point A and B, a straight line, which is easy to do when you have an invisible flying motorcycle. It had taken everything not to laugh when he looked at Magnum and saw that his tutor had buried his head under the shell of the side car, obviously the canine was afraid of heights. Magnum had noticed Neo's amusement at his plight and vowed to bite him if he ever said anything.

After shrinking the bike and putting it safely into the expanded locket again, Neo started sending silent prayers that everything would go smoothly.

The first things that Neo noticed did not bode well, two things were obviously missing. He saw the obvious lack of security and that the gate wasn't even locked. Neo knew this was a trap, because he was a firm believer that you're not paranoid if someone really is out to get you, and he also knew that it was a trap meant for a god.

Magnum walked slowly thru the dark trying to sniff out the smell of a god. When the two got close to the Tunnel of Love Magnum gave an affirmative nod and Neo reached into his pocket pulling out the box from Hermes.

"Remember kid, if you use the Ring it should be a piece of cake, but I can't help because that Blacksmiths security would see through my illusion. If it were my trap I would have some kind of trip wire so be careful when you find the shield." Magnum didn't show any outward signs of his concern even though he was sure that springing the trap could be fatal for a demigod, maybe even one as powerful as Neo.

After practicing with the Ring it was easy to make it work. One thought caused a feeling of invisible cloth to slide around Neo from head to toe and it was fortunate that he could still see his own body. Applying a silencing charm around him he slipped forward like a ghost toward the pool area of the Tunnel of Love. The little bronze cherubs were suspiciously spaced around the pool. Neo felt small currents of electricity cycle around inside the statues, but Neo wasn't sure if that was a feature of the park or a part of the trap. It was easy to see that the pool was completely drained. The one boat in the bottom had the Shield of Ares clearly displayed. This caused Neo to roll his eyes, 'How obvious can you get,' he thought, 'I mean really, are the gods this thick?'

He made sure to keep his hands at his side when he reached the bottom of the pool. Nothing in particular stood out but the electricity running through the spider web under the shield was unusual. 'Magnum was right that must be the trip wire and I almost missed it. Thank the gods my training included how to feel the energy around me. I might just have to kiss Magnum's fuzzy mug if I make it out of here.'

The power of the Master Bolt was coming from the shield. It was so powerful that Neo felt hyperaware, dizzy, full of energy and faint all at the same time. He had to take a few seconds to ground himself after he felt the Bolt's power.

That was when Neo realized this was going to be harder than they all had thought. The Bolt was there and the front of the shield looked completely solid, meaning there must be a hidden compartment on the back of the shield.

The easiest thing would be to go back to the entrance and summon the shield now that he knew what it looked like. He couldn't just summon it though because that would defeat the purpose of making the replica and if he was found with the Shield and Bolt, Ares would just pin the theft of both on him.

Due to not being able to move the shield or risk setting off the alarm, the only other option would be to vanish a small part of the shield so he could get to the compartment from the front. Unfortunately Neo didn't know how large the compartment was and he could vanish too big of a piece, setting off the trap if one of the wires was disconnected.

Neo needed to think for a moment, as he thought of different scenarios and quickly discarded them he finally thought of something. He could feel the Bolt's energy and it was inside the compartment, so he could use the Bolt as a guide for the space he would need to vanish. However the energy was too immense for him to single down to a point of origin. That's when the last idea fell into place.

Neo closed his eyes and slowed his breathing thinking back to running in the woods with the Naiads and Magnum. His scenes opened even farther and it was like he was standing next to the Sun. The power of the Master Bolt felt like waves crashing into him, as if it would drown him. Neo could feel his body swaying and he knew he was venturing into dangerous territory.

He was afraid of opening his eyes because Neo had no clue what he would see. Magnum had warned him about a source of great power that had blinded a sorcerer before; the power of the Bolt could sear his eyeballs right out of his head. It was the only plan he had so it was worth a shot.

He cautiously opened his eyes and his Mage Sight activated slowly as if protecting Neo from the sight of the Bolt's magic. The power was being dissected right before his eyes, broken down into parts that he was starting to understand. It was like looking at a hologram that displayed the workings of the Master Bolt, from what it was made of, and how it was created, which elements came first and even how he could make an exact copy.

Neo knew the power of a Sorcerer's Mage Sight depends on their power and knowledge. What he didn't know was being the chosen child of Hecate made his magic almost sentient. Due to the magical knowledge imprinted into his core by Hecate when she gave him her blessing his magic reacted to his will on an instinctual level. It was beyond what Neo could wield right now but his magic protected him and gave him the knowledge of his Mother.

Right now it was important for him to reign in his Mage Sight and give it a purpose before it overwhelmed his mind with the properties of the Bolt. He focused on only being able to see it, he willed his Sight to look through the shield at the bolt and there it was.

Neo had to work quickly because his magic was already being depleted rapidly. He carefully used the vanishing spell to disappear the metal blocking the Bolt from view. Once that was done he took the Bolt out and swapped places with the fake, placing the replica in the shield and the real Master Bolt in the box. The last thing was to summon the material back into place like it had been there all along. Neo was so focused that he didn't realized he was sweating profusely and his clothing was getting damp.

He willed his Mage Sight to clear and collapsed beside the boat. His breathing was heavy and he knew that he needed to get out of there fast before he passed out from exhaustion. He walked back to Magnum and took off the silencing spell and became visible again.

Magnum was worried when Neo fell unconscious at the entrance of the park. The trainer of Magic didn't have to worry for long when a figure came out of the shadows.

A beautiful, raven haired woman stepped up to the pair. Her skin was glowing under the light of the Moon and her violet eyes sparkled with pride.

"I have chosen well. The heir of my power is strong and he will only get stronger with time." As the words were said the dark shadows wrapped around them and only the woman's violet eyes could be seen. When the shadows passed there was no sign of the teen, dog or mysterious woman.

***Break***

Neo experienced the strangest dream he ever had while he was unconscious. It was dark and he almost felt like he was having a vision of Death again but he couldn't feel or sense her. Then it was like she suddenly appeared out of nowhere along with her opposite, Life, and for the first time Neo heard it. Hermes had said that there was a language spoken between Life and Death before Time, and Neo understood it. Another entity was soon born who Neo could only described as Chaos and it seemed to have a consciousness like Death. In the dark Chaos seemed to stretch and curl up moving and working thru the nothingness around Neo.

It wasn't long before Neo felt two other entities fill the void. One seemed to be unending and bottomless. Neo felt Death travel from the Nothingness into this Fathomless Depth. The second feeling that washed over him was cool and crisp like a night breeze. Endless nothing seemed to exist for even longer than before. Only the Darkness of Night, and the Depth that Death dwelled in, existed in the Chaos but then pure Love gripped Neo in a cocoon of warmth as it seemed to still the Chaos and command order from the vast confusion. Love soon gave a spark of Light and the Cosmos seemed to explode around him. The seed of Earth formed in front of Neo's very eyes and he watched as the Earth was born. The pathways between worlds connected it to other places across the stars, worlds and realms that Neo didn't even know existed.

Soon the Earth was covered by the Heavens and life unraveled from there, on the planet and every world across the Universe. From the Earth sprung up Great Monsters, who with the irresistible, shattering and overwhelming forces of Earthquake, Hurricane, and Volcano lifted up the mountains and scooped out the Seas. Three of the Monsters had one hundred hands and fifty heads and were the largest of them all. Three more of the Giant beings had large eyes in the middle of their foreheads and devastating power that made Neo tremble. A number of other monsters just as large and powerful were left, who were (Neo guessed correctly) the Titans, but not every one of the last group was as destructive as the two other kinds of monsters.

A change happened when Heaven itself seemed to force the three fifty-headed monsters back into the depths of the Earth. The Earth rumbled and shook when this happened as if trembling in rage. The monsters seemed to understand but only one listened.

Neo watched as one Titan seemed to attack the sky and from a great wound Heaven bled out and Giants sprang up from the drops of blood. Another group of monsters appeared at that time, terribly ugly croons that had snakes for hair and bloodshot eyes that wept tears of blood. Their bodies were coal black and bat-like wings sprouted from their backs.

From that battle on the Titan who defeated the Sky seemed to rule with another as his wife. As his wife bore his children the Titan ate them, Neo knew that it must be Cronus. The Wife of Cronus hid the last son and when he was grown he came back and made his father disgorge his siblings. After that was a Great War, that was so terrifying Neo didn't know the words to describe it. The Titans and Monsters joined forces against the gods. One Titan joined the six siblings along with the fifty-headed beings, who were released along with their irresistible weapons thunder, lightning and earthquake.

At the end of the War between the Monsters and Children of Cronus Zeus punished his enemies severely. They were bound in chains and cast as far down into the Earth as the Sky was above it. Neo heard the voice of Cronus swear his revenge from the depths of Tartarus.

The vision ended with quick flashes showing a Titan who was punished by having to hold up the Heavens on his shoulders. Then one more Monster crawled from the Earth to battle the gods and was struck down. One of the last images showed the Giants doing battle with the Olympians and being defeated by the gods who were helped by the mighty demigod Hercules. The last thing Neo saw what the gods sitting on their thrones in Olympus as victors over the Earth and her Children.

Neo woke up after his dream with a throbbing pain between his eyes and slowly sat up.

A quiet, and slightly husky female voice spoke to him, "Here drink this," and a cup was firmly placed against his lips.

Neo was too groggy and in pain to realize that he had obeyed without question. It was a good sign that the drink wasn't poisoned when he felt his headache ebb away and the rest of his body also started to feel better.

When the cup was taken back Neo's gaze followed its retreat all the way to the person who had given it to him. At the side of the bed he was in sat Hecate in her black robe.

Neo wasn't sure what to say so he decided to get his hello and most important questions out of the way first. "Hello Mother," Neo gave as low of a bow as he could while sitting down.

"You don't need to do that, Neo, you are my son, and I would like you to treat me as you would have your human Mother." Her smile was nervious but genuine, and Neo was getting the feeling that this was as new to her as it was to him. "You have questions?"

"Um, what happened? I remember getting the Bolt but that's it." The headache may have been gone but his memory was a little fuzzy.

"Oh, Neo," she said with a hint of sympathy, "You did a great job, and I'm so proud of how far you have come in such a short time, but you exhausted yourself. The magic inside of you is very powerful and you have not learned how to channel so much energy at once; though you are a quick study. The strain caused by your lack of training was too much for you. You collapsed before you even left the Park and I brought you here. This is one of my homes and the closest to where I found you. You're in South Carolina right now."

Neo was trying to remember where that was in the United States but he suddenly remembered, "I have to help Death, she sent me a message before I left to get the Bolt. How long have I been asleep?"

"Oh, you slept all night; it's almost nine o'clock right now. Just let me make sure you're alright and I can help you get to Death's realm." Hecate calmly told him.

"You can?" he asked.

"Yes, Neo, I am the pre-Olympian goddess of magic: the knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, sorcery, witchcraft and necromancy. I also have power over the Moon, ghosts, entrance-ways and crossroads. I have minor ruler ship over the Three Domains; Earth, Sea, and Sky, and one of my abodes is in the Underworld actually. There are not many places I cannot go." With her tone it sounded like she was simply stating her hobbies but Neo was impressed that such a powerful goddess had chosen him as her son.

"You said pre-Olympian, I just had a strange dream and I think I remember seeing you."

Hecate's eyebrow cocked questioningly, "Oh, what was your dream about?"

Neo could still remember his dream in more vivid detail than usual, but it really didn't make sense to him yet, "I don't actually know, at first it was really dark. I could feel that I wasn't alone but it was strange. I could feel Death, at least I think it was her, and something that felt like her exact opposite, I guess that was Life. There were others, but I don't know who they were. Then I felt this almost suffocating feeling of love and it was like someone set off fireworks. I saw the beginning I think, how the Earth was created and the whole Universe. It wasn't the way everyone thought. The Earth was young and these beings, monsters, suddenly came out of the ground; Giant beings with a bunch of heads and twice as many hands, huge Cyclops bigger than mountains and I'm pretty sure it was Cronus and the rest of the Titans. That's when I saw you, are you a Titan?"

"No I am a goddess, Daughter of the Titans Perses and Asteria." She answered. "Did you see anything else?"

"Uh, yeah, after the Titans were born or created I saw Cronus attacking the Sky. I think he wounded it or something because there was blood. Then two more groups just popped up out of the ground were the blood fell; one group was made of really big people, and the second was these ugly old women. Cronus ruled after that and I saw him eat his children, but the last one, Zeus, was hidden. When Zeus returned with his siblings there was a War. Poseidon, Hades and he defeated Cronus and the other Titans except for one who fought with the gods. The Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus but the gods made Atlas hold up the Sky. I remember Cronus was mad and threatened vengeance but he couldn't escape. Then I saw quick flashes of two more battles, I think, but my memory isn't as clear when I try to remember." For Neo it was so strange that he thought it might be real but in the end he wasn't sure.

"Hmm…" There was a very pensive look on Hecate's face. "That is not a good sign. Demigods and gods do not dream like mortals. Your dreams can be prophetic, and I think that this is one of those dreams. No demigod powerful enough to see the beginning of time would do so without reason. Was there anything that stood out?"

"No, but I thought it was weird when I could understand what they were saying. They weren't speaking English, and I remember that Hermes said the first language was created by Death and Life so they could communicate with each other. He was explaining the writing on my ring." At that moment Neo looked down at his ring and was startled when he realized that he could read the inscription. The translation into English would be "The One Who Speaks for Death", which didn't really sound like "Master of Death" at all.

"Then it may not be the only dream you have. There is one benefit it seems; the vision must have awoken your power to understand the voice of Death. That is a great power Neo; even the gods do not know the true Ancient language, for it had become an old way of speaking before their time." Hecate set aside the empty cup and stood up, "You should be fine now. I'll step outside so I can prepare your transportation to Death's realm and you can get ready to go. Your shoes and jacket are on that chair," she said gesturing to a corner of the room over her right shoulder. "When you are ready just walk to the stairs at the end of the hall and down into the sitting room I'll be waiting there."

Hecate left the room and Neo put on his shoes and made sure that he still had all of his possessions. Hecate was standing in the sitting room when Neo walked in. She motioned for him to step forward to the door that looked like it led outside. Hecate reached toward a dial on the wall beside the door and turned it. Neo heard a small click and had the strange feeling that if he opened the door Death would be on the other side.

"That cannot be a normal door, where does it lead?" he asked curiously.

Hecate just smirked slyly and gazed at him from the corner of her eye. She opened the door and motioned him inside. "Go Neo, this door leads to the realm of Death, She is waiting for you."

This was the first time he had talked to Hecate and Neo did not want to leave so soon, "Wait, what about Magnum, are you come with me?"

"No, but I will be in the land of the dead soon enough. Then I will have the pleasure of enjoying the hospitality of Hades and the loving praises that Persephone sings in his honor." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm, "I do not look forward to this time however Persephone should not have to suffer Hades alone. Do not worry, I have sent Magnum on another mission but you will see him again. Now go my son, I will see you sooner than you think." With one hand on his shoulder Hecate nudged him through the door.

'I feel like this is a contest between the gods on who can make me travel in the most unconventional ways,' Neo thought as he was slowly transported through the dark void, ' because I definitely have no say in this.' Neo suddenly came to the same study he had been in when he woke up in Death's realm as if he had fazed through the wall.

_A.N.: Yay! That was SO FUN! I don't want to give everything away but this story is only inspired by the Harry Potter (mostly Neo's background as Harry) and Percy Jackson (eh, it's 50:50) stories so a lot of stuff will be interlaced with Myth and my own ideas. No spoilers! So that's all I can say at this time. I'm not as happy with the way this chapter turned out, because I feel like I have left too much of the background for later, so let's cross our fingers and hope that I can remember all of the details I need to add in the coming chapters. I really love all of the feedback, and I'm sorry that I had to keep everyone in suspense (Zelda Ray most of all) but I will hopefully have the next chapter out starting next week. Due to the fast pace of the next few chapters combined with the mountain of reseach I will have to do I'm not too sure when I will be done. I am sending psychic cookies to everyone that reviews so that you can have something delicious in your day. Please review, Thank you my lovely readers! Until next time! (B.T.W. I wrote this note while sleep deprived and hyped up on sugar so that I will stay awake through work (shh, don't tell anyone), so I'm sorry if I sound more crazy than usual)_


	6. Chapter 5

_Author Note: I had a reviewer who was confused about the direction I was going with my comment in Chapter 2 about Human Transfiguration and would like to clear that up first (please note that changes have been made to Chapter 2 in order to explain). I'm a fantasy nut (along with other things), there I said it, and as such there are several versions of the Laws of Magic that I have become familiar with over the years. One such Law that I hold should be universally true, is that Human Transfiguration is one of the hardest works of Magic. Due to a beings identity of self, it should be hard for someone to alter that identity. A self-aware being knows what it should look like. Even in the case of sever trauma such as the loss of a limb a being will develop phantom pains because the brain knows that, at one point in time, the limb existed. So anyone with an I.Q. above a germ could throw off a spell of Human Transfiguration through a great force of will power; because Magic as a force powered by will, can be acted upon by another more powerful will (which gives you the ability to break a curse if no other Law of Magic is applied). This means in my story it would actually be easier to just kill some one then to turn them into a frog or pig, because without the use of strong sleeping potions or mind altering drugs that person would eventually be able to change back through there own means._

_Now that I feel like I have explained it better, I would like to note that not all of the things written in the story will be present in either the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson Universes due to my right of artistic license :) But please understand that I'm not offended by the comment. I was actually very glad that my reviewer pointed it out because I had wanted to make this point clear and obviously I hadn't. I know that I get into a rush and accidentally leave out some of the things I wanted to put into the story, which is totally my fault._

_This chapter may be revised latter but for now it is finished._

_Sorry for the long note;_

_So once again this is rated M for violence and will contain mild slash context._

_"Blah." = normal speech_

_'Blah.' = thoughts_

_italicized "Blah." = beast speech_

_Now on with the show!_

**The Son of Two**

**Chapter 5**

"Well…here we are, again," Neo murmured as he looked around the room. A tinkling laugh came from behind him, making Neo turn to see that Death had joined him.

"Is that such a bad thing?" she asked. "I thought you liked me, Master?"

Neo smirked at her teasing, "Okay it could be worse, and at least the view is nice. I wanted to talk to you anyway, I was able to read the inscription on the ring you gave me and I'm pretty sure that it doesn't say "Master"."

Death laughed again, "You are my voice, as I said before, but the whole of the Universe will come to know you as the Master of Death, think of it as a pet name."

"Yeah I get that it sounds cool, but you're _THE_ Death! How could anyone think I'm your master? There is so much I don't know about you and even more that I could never understand. I actually can't think about it too hard, it's pretty overwhelming, you know?"

Neo's admission made Death smile. "I can understand how it might seem like too much right now. You need to remember that you are more than you once where and you are only going to get better. You are the son of two gods, the adopted son of a primordial goddess, and you are the Master of Death, and nothing can ever change that. There is actually something I forgot to tell you…" Death's tone sounded almost urgent on the matter but she was suddenly interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt your little chat, but I believe there is something _else_ you forgot, my dear," a voice with an arrogant British lilt spoke from the other side of the room. When Neo looked, he saw a man who was almost six and a half feet tall with handsome features, raven hair, and pure green eyes uncorrupted by any sign of another color.

It was the man's companion who surprised Neo however; a woman stood in the room with a sensual, ample figure that was twice as tall as the man beside her and was clothed in a shimmering green cocktail dress. She had voluminous tresses the color of the deepest abyss flowing down her back, which struck a great contrast with her snow white skin. The woman's milk white eyes stared at Neo.

"I had not forgotten, Loki," Death replied with a look that said she was not pleased with his way of speaking. Death glanced back at Neo, "The matter that you have been called here to handle was brought to my attention by these two. Neo, meet Loki and Hela, your Uncle and Cousin."

He was speechless and could only look at those in the room with wide eyes. It was one thing for Neo to know and understand that out in the Cosmos somewhere is a place that he never considered might actually exist. But it was something else entirely to come to the understanding that Asgard was real and that he really did have family that was, amusingly enough, out of this world. Neo also knew that Hela was the Queen of Hel, the Asgardian realm of the dead; which was something he remembered reading in the book Hecate gave him and another thing that tied him to Death. At that moment he felt like Fate had smacked him in the face with the realization that things had most definitely changed.

"H-hello…" he finally forced the word out with great difficulty.

The giant of a woman gave a thin smile to Neo, "Greetings, little cousin, you should feel honored. I am not in the habit of asking favor from those of Asgardian blood."

Neo felt a sting at those words and started to get angry but his indignation was extinguished as Death placed a hand on his shoulder, when their eyes connected Death gave a small shake of her head. Then Death spoke to Hela, "I understand that you have reservations due to Neo being Thor's son, but you also know he was raised on Earth and does not share the same beliefs as the Asgard. I know he will hear you out, just like he listened to me."

'At least that explains the attitude,' Neo thought as he watched Hela's ridged posture relax minutely. One glance at Loki's face showed that the god was actually amused.

"You do have such a strange way of asking one for help, daughter," Loki teased, "Don't concern yourself will her sour mood, nephew, I think it is a natural condition for those gods associated with death, but then again our lovely Death is an exception."

Loki walked closer to Neo and rested his hands on Neo's shoulders as if to take in his appearance better. "It is strange that you are Thor's son while anyone who didn't know better would mistake you for my own." Loki's smile was kind natured and almost fatherly.

"Loki, do not forget why we are here." The smile was still in place but Neo was close enough to see Loki's eyes darken when Hela spoke his name.

A sigh escaped his lips as he lowered his arms back to his sides. "We came because you are the only one with the power to help us, and quite frankly the only one that might care to. Do you know the stories of my supposed sons, Fenrir and Jormungandr?" Loki paused and when Neo nodded an affirmative he continued, "The Æsir people rely so much on prophecy that they punished Fenrir and Jormungandr for crimes they have not even committed." Here Loki paused again wanting Neo to understand that his next words carried a great weight.

"I ask that you release them from their bonds. Hela has agreed that her brothers can live in Helheim where they will not be a threat to the Nine Realms. I do not ask this lightly, to go against the Will of Odin is very dangerous and you have every right to refuse. I only hope you will ponder this: You have the power to right this grave injustice, are you the kind of person who would sit back and let someone else suffer because of another's fear of death? Do not all things, in time, succumb to the great sleep that is Death?"

Neo swallowed thickly. Back when his world was so much smaller Neo would have said yes no questions asked, after all when you thought about it the Æsir are acting like Voldemort in a way, but he was dealing with forces unlike anything he has ever known. How was he going to save Fenrir from unbreakable chains, he was just one person after all, and Neo had no clue what bound Jormungandr. Loki also had a point Odin was the King of the Æsir, he could probably wipe Neo out with his pinky finger.

But of course that was when his conscience kicked in (he was starting to think he was a closet masochist) and he felt a shift in his resolve like a fire of justice had been lit in his breast and was not going to be extinguished until he had fixed this. It was a strange feeling, it came from him, but he had never felt something so strongly. It made his power thrum under his skin and he stood a little straighter. Neo turned to Death and silently pleading for her to make this decision easier for him, because even though he has only known Death a short time he knew he could trust her.

"You are the Master of Death, Neo," Death said, "You have the right to act in my place, and with my authority, but I will not tell you what to do. I would be very happy if you helped them, which is all I can say." She was sympathetic to his plight; this would not be an easy decision.

Neo took a minute to weigh the pros and cons again and smiled dubiously when he had made his choice. "I will help Fenrir and Jormungandr, but I am not doing this just because you asked. I want it to be clear that I have no grudges against the Æsir, even if I do believe that what they did was wrong. If Fenrir and Jormungandr swear that they will not seek revenge against Asgard or any other Realm once they are free then I will do everything in my power to free them."

Loki seemed relieved to hear this and Hela actually smiled before thanking him.

Neo turned to Loki and gave the god a hard look, "They may call you the god of lies, but that's not entirely true, is it?" Neo smirked at the one second look of shock that Loki gave, "You don't have to lie, do you, just tell people exactly what they need to hear even if it's something that they don't want to know. It's funny, your essentially guilt tripping people into doing what you want."

"I would like to know how you came by such a…interesting conclusion."

Neo still had a smirk curling the corners of his lips as he glanced at Death and ignored Loki's last comment. "So you probably had a little time to plan this out, yeah?"

Death nodded. "The easier path would be to search for Fenrir first, Master. First you must enter Asgard where you will travel across the Lake Amsvartnir to the island of Lyngvi where you will find the river Ván. If you travel up the river to its point of origin you will find Fenrir."

"Even when you reach Fenrir you may still face an impossible task," Hela commented, "Fenrir is mighty, and has broken out of the metal chains the gods used to bind him with, not once but twice. After their failure the gods commissioned the dwarves to forge a new chain that would be impossible to break. To achieve the impossible, the dwarves created a chain out of six equally impossible things; the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the spittle of a bird."

"Well I know some _girls_ who where close to growing a full beard, so I don't know if it's _impossible_ for a woman to have one," Neo quipped.

Hela gave him a flat look but went on, "The unbreakable chain is as a fine ribbon, but you will not find any chain of iron stronger than Gleipnir, which will hold Fenrir until the days of Ragnarök. So your true test young god, lies in finding that which will do the impossible."

"She is right Neo, but I have seen you do great things under pressure. I think I should worry about getting you there while you worry about what to do after that, okay?" Death spoke with a cheerful voice as if she had complete confidence that Neo would succeed.

"So how are you going to do that?" Neo asked.

"The biggest obstacle will be staying out of the sight of Heimdall. He is the guardian of the gates to Asguard, because he is as powerful as Odin he protects the Realm from any attacks. If he found you he would not hesitate to kill you. The reason that Asgard is so safe is because he is known throughout the worlds as a fierce warrior."

Neo swallowed, "Well that sounds comforting."

"It will not be a problem," Loki responded, "I have traveled unwatched under Heimdall's all-seeing eye before, I can take you to the island of Lyngvi and point you in the right direction."

"Okay…so that just leaves me to come up with a way to do the "impossible", should be fantastic." Neo mumbled dubiously.

"I am in no personal hurry, but Loki will not go unmissed for long. If you are going to do this you might want to be quick about it." Hela stepped forward to tower over Neo, "Here is something that will convince Fenrir you speak the truth." Hela handed him a small pouch that was tied closed by a piece of rope. "Simply a lock of hair so that he will know I was the one who sent you."

Neo wondered something as he slipped the pouch into his inner pocket, "How does he know what you smell like?"

"A wolf will always know its pack," It was Loki that answered as he wrapped a deceptively strong thin fingered hand around Neo's arm. "I suggest you close your eyes if you frighten easily."

With those words Loki forced his nephew to walk briskly out the door and into the abyss. But it wasn't the abyss that was a part of Death's realm, it was the cosmic abyss like in his dream. He could see stars and planets floating around him as they passed by with great speed. For a second he found himself panicking because he remembered that people couldn't survive in outer space! But the strong hand around his arm tightened and actually calmed Neo down so he could realize that he was strangely fine.

What he saw would be a sight he could never forget it was so gorgeous but any words that he would have used to describe it seemed lackluster. After passing by galaxies and nebulas there route took them over a giant golden city that stretched out farther than anything he had seen on Earth. They passed the city and traveled over a lake to an island where they slowed to a stop.

"How fortuitous, it appears Heimdall has not noticed your presence," Loki said as his eyes searched the surrounding area.

Neo's flesh prickled as it slowly warmed from the cold chill of the magic that brought them there. "How do you know that?"

"Because we would have already encountered trouble if he had," Loki explained, "Perhaps even in the form of your Father. Hela was right I do not have the time to take you to Fenrir but I have gotten you here unseen. Go that way," he pointed in a northwest direction to where they were, "you will find a river, and go upstream until it stops that is where Fenrir is. I wish you luck and I thank you."

With that Loki seemed to dematerialize and Neo was left alone.

The trip to the river was short, and a simple leaf that fell into the calm river soon showed him which way the current moved. The journey through the forest was longer and it took nearly four hours to see anything but trees. Neo was glad that whatever the boots Thor had gifted him were made of, at least they were well suited for traveling long distances. The trees thinned and rocks gradually became interspersed in the landscape. The rocks grew into large boulders and ahead he saw the peaks of a mountain. It was another hour before he reached the mouth of the river; ironically it was a literal mouth.

He had made it, Neo walked up to the gapping mouth of the giant wolf whose head was lying on the bank of the Ván River. The jaws of the giant beast could have swallowed Hela whole. Neo looked at the fine chain that held the mighty Wolf secure. The chain was said to have become tighter and tighter as Fenrir struggled to break it. 'It looks like he kept struggling until he couldn't anymore,' Neo thought as he witnessed the gruesome sight of the chain almost gripping the wolf to the bone and in some places it had cut the skin and the wounds had healed over. As he looked he was able to observe that the end of the chain seemed to disappear under the mountain. The sword that threatened to pierce his brain if he should close his mouth appeared to have never rusted after all these years as it gleamed in the light of the setting Sun.

Neo turned his eyes from the terrible state of his cousin and looked toward the red sky. It was a melancholy sight, a truly beautiful sunset but how many sunsets had Fenrir suffered in this condition?

"How long have you laid here in agony praying that Sköll would hurry and swallow the Sun? Do you want him to because it would be the day you are freed from here? Or do you wait for the day you are free, so you can kill the gods that imprisoned you?"

"_Who are you to ask such questions?_" The voice of Fenrir resounded in Neo's head like the rumble of a falling mountain. The magical link he had with animals was working on the wolf.

"I am Neo Evan Thorson, and I am here to free you cousin."

"_Do not mock me young god! You are just another of those who wish to gawk and throw things at me while you laugh at the pitiful Son of Loki. Well I can tell you now that you will find no amusement here Son of Thor,_" Fenrir's voice still reverberated deeply but Neo finally noticed a note of weary depression that made his heart hurt with empathy. He knew what it was to be trapped both physically and metaphorically, and he knew that Fenrir suffered from a pain that was more than physical.

"I am not here to mock you, I will free you from the chain Gleipnir, even though it is not the same one that binds your mind and soul," Neo replied as he pulled out the pouch from Hela. "I was sent by Hela," he noticed the nose of the wolf twitch, "Do you believe me now?"

"_I can smell her sent yes, and I have been listening to your heart as well as your words, you speak the truth. So tell me…cousin…how will you free me? Do you think you are strong enough to break the unbreakable chain?_"

"Probably not," Neo answered honestly, "But I don't have to be strong enough, I only need to be smart enough."

"_What do you mean?_"

"I mean that it is remarkable what you can learn from just looking at something. Take the chain for instance; it's so delicate looking that it looks like you could break it in a second but you've obviously been trying this whole time. So it must truly be unbreakable or at least stronger than it looks. I'm reminded of the question, "What happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object?" and of course the answer is compromise. So I have to think about it this way, if I can't break the chain what else can I do? The answer is clear really, I was able to figure it out when I first saw you. If the chain will not break then I need to loosen it from its anchor."

"_Hah…you are at least amusing to have around,_" humor saturated the wolf's words.

Neo raised a brow, "Oh really?" he retorted.

"_Gleipnir was fastened by the cord Galgja to the large stone slab Gjöll which was anchored deep into the ground and the great rock Thviti was then used to anchor it further. The mountain you see behind me is the rock Thviti._"

"Yes, I can see that, which now gives me the option of breaking the rock and the slab so I can free you. We can agree that at least it is no longer impossible." Neo grinned like a loon as he revealed his plan.

"_You truly believe you can do that? You are completely insane. I know that others can make jokes and appear to be less than sane, even Loki has his moments, but you are a fool._"

"You know Loki?" Neo asked as he walked closer the wolf.

"_Yes he…what are you doing?!"_ Fenrir was alarmed as the teenage god started to climb into his mouth.

"This sword must be dreadfully uncomfortable, huh mate?" Neo commented absentmindedly as he got a better look but he was unable to avoid a large drop of saliva that fell from the roof of Fenrir's mouth and traveled under his collar and down his back.

"Ugh…" Neo's face was masked by a look of revulsion and he shivered briefly before steadying his balance on Fenrir's tongue. 'I'm not thinking about it, definitely not thinking about it,' he told himself.

"Just give me a sec while I pull it out, but I need you to open your mouth as wide as you can."

"_I will open my mouth but if you betray me my teeth will come down and bite you in half. Do you hear me?"_ Fenrir stated as a rumbling growl came from his chest.

"Of course," Neo gripped the hilt, "On the count of three." He paused as he felt and watched Fenrir's mouth open wider.

"Three," he said as the pulled the sword out and away with him as he tumble back out of the wolf's mouth and onto the ground.

Fenrir whined as he slowly closed his mouth, "_It is painful to close my mouth after so long, but it also feels so good. Thank you._" Fenrir's tongue came out of his mouth to lick Neo almost form head to toe, "_Ow…thank you."_

"I have some pain reliever but do you want it now or after we get out of here?" Neo asked while he got back up leaving the sword on the ground.

"_I can bare the pain but I do not know if I could wait any longer to be free._"

"Yeah don't worry, I got this," Neo nodded as a show to build up confidence and focused on Marvápn as he thought about what he needed, 'It will smite whatsoever is before me, huh? Let's just hope that includes mountains.'

Marvápn started to take form as Neo visualized what he wanted. In his hands a great hammer appeared it was easily as big as his body but he wielded it like it was nothing. He raised the great hammer over his head and gave a battle cry as he charged toward the mountain…one…two…three steps and he jumped. The force of his jump sent him feet into the air and as he came back toward the ground he swung the hammer down.

Like an explosion that was centered outward from him the mountain was reduced to boulder sized pieces that where smaller at the point of impact. As the dust cleared Neo was relieved to see Fenrir was alright and that he could now see the place where the chain was anchored to a giant slab. 'It worked!'

Neo ran toward the end of the chain because he was almost certain there was no possible way that his little "hammer time" trick went unnoticed. He raised the hammer again and when it came crashing down the slab split in two, exposing the rope that held the chain in place. Marvápn transformed into a sword and with one slash the chain was loose.

With the chain loose Fenrir rose from the ground shaking the chain from him and pulling it from his wounds that healed again unhindered by the chain. It shocked Neo that as Fenrir stood his coat turned from dirty gray into midnight black as power filled his furry form and he became clean and healthier looking. Now that Fenrir could look at him directly the young godling noticed that the wolf's eyes glowed orange like fire and the power that was flowing around the large form was projected like flames covering Fenrir. It felt warm, powerful, and destructive but was held by a will of iron. Fenrir was very powerful and Neo could tell that he should never underestimate his cousin (or any of them for that matter).

Fenrir's ears pricked up and because he couldn't speak without pain yet he projected his thoughts, "_They are coming, and I'm sure that it is the guard's ofAsgard. Now would be a good time for us to leave, yes?_" Fenrir looked down at him with a less intimidating golden gaze that must be there normal color when not using power.

Neo looked up at Fenrir sheepishly, "Honestly? I haven't thought that far ahead yet, I was making it up as I went."

"_We are doomed._"

"Hey! I've gotten this far haven't I?! Just…uhm…I-I don't know how to get us out of here, yet, so we'll have to hide." Neo grabbed the chain and sword lying on the ground.

"_What are you doing?_"

"If they catch us they could tie you up again with this and I figure the sword could probably kill you, right?" When both items were in his hands though, it was strange that they shrank and merged with Marvápn around his wrist leaving a thin chain and sword charm, wrapped around and hanging from the right band.

"Okay that was weird."

"_Well I could think of worse people to have the power to imprison and kill me, but I think it's more important that we HIDE!" _Fenrir grabbed Neo with his teeth by the back of the jacket and leapt the distance from where they had been standing into the tree line, in a single jump.

Fenrir ran faster on land than his broom had ever flown in the sky. He barreled passed trees in the direction that must have been opposite from where the guards were coming from, but it was also opposite from the way that Neo had traveled.

They stopped at the edge of a great ravine and Fenrir turned around. Neo thinking that Fenrir had given up was about to say something but he could only exclaim in amazement, when the wolf turned sharply and ran the short distance toward the edge of the ravine and jumped through the air landing gracefully on the other side.

In the distance Neo could finally hear something. People shouted out words that he couldn't make out and he heard horses neighing in the distance behind them. They broke through the tree line and saw the edge of the island a cliff that plummeted down into the lake below.

Fenrir sat Neo down and panted out a whine.

"What, can't we just swim across?"

Shaking his head Fenrir answered, "_No, the Warriors of Asgard will stop at nothing to catch us they would dive over the cliff to retrieve our corpses if they had to. But if we could trick them into thinking that we did go over the cliff, they would move on and continue to search the water."_

Thinking quickly Neo gauged the distance from the cliff to the water and then listen to how far away the Warriors were, "I've got a plan, come on."

Neo walked back to the trees and Fenrir fallowed. He turned back to the cliff, "Okay we run straight at the cliff and jump, I'll catch you then use my magic to turn us invisible and fly to the mainland. It would be a lot easier if you could become smaller or something, wait, can you?"

Fenrir seemed to pause, as if he really didn't want to answer then simply said, "_Yes_."

"Okay so if you change before I catch you it will be a lot easier. Well," he said as he crouched lower to the ground ready to take a running start, "here goes nothing!"

They both ran toward the edge and jumped. Neo twisted sideways and looked at Fenrir who was slowly becoming smaller, and younger?

He directed the wind to push them toward each other and caught Fenrir then slowed to a stop midair. He looked at the wolf cub he was holding in his hands and had to suppress the urge to coo at the adorable creature. The look of affection must have shown on his face because he could swear that Fenrir was glaring at him with his golden eyes.

Willing the power of the Death Ring to work Neo turned them both invisible and then flew them the distance back to the golden city he had seen earlier.

Neo landed on the shore and found a place behind two large boulders and under the shade to hide. Figuring that now was as good a time as any to help Fenrir he sat the wolf cub down and pulled out the emergency potions kit he had packed, then took out a pain reliever potion and a flask of water that contained enough clean water for a year in the desert.

He looked back over to the cub that was looking at their surroundings with keen eyes. "Hey," he called quietly, "you should drink this, it will help with the pain in your jaw."

Fenrir was silent as he looked over to the vial. He sniffed it and his black nose wrinkled cutely.

"I know, but it will work quickly and I've got water to wash it down with." Neo placated.

Fenrir nodded and tipped his head back letting Neo pour the potion into his mouth. The wolfs actions at the taste were comical, his tongue was continuously trying to scrap the taste off and at one point he even started licking the grass. Neo tried not to laugh but a chuckle escaped him as he tilted the flask up in front of Fenrir's nose so the cub could drink from the flask.

When he was done Neo capped the water and returned the flask and now empty vial to the kit before stowing them away again.

"That was vile!" Fenrir said, but it was different this time as his words were said out loud and in a voice that sounded like a kids.

"Ha, yeah I know, and it doesn't get any better believe me." Neo smiled at Fenrir who was making the cutest face that only canines had the looks for by tilting his head sideways and staring at Neo with his big puppy eyes.

Neo couldn't help himself before the words came tumbling out of his mouth. "You know you're really cute like this?"

"I am not cute! I am Fenrir Wolf; I am a strong and powerful being." Fenrir was baring his teeth at Neo and the young god had to squash the urge to coo again. In his mind he was still trying to see how something as terrifying as the great wolf he saw chained to the mountain could turn into a cute cub like this one.

"I know that," he replied then silently finished, 'but that doesn't change the fact you make a cute cub.'

"We really need to get out of here," Fenrir cautioned, "They will be combing the area around the lake soon. Where are we going now?"

"I've got to get you back to Death's Realm, but I'm not sure how." Neo was wondering his next move when the ground seemed to disappear underneath him and Fenrir.

"Aaah!"

"Whoa!"

They landed on the floor of a place Neo was becoming well acquainted with, as he got up from the floor he noticed Death was sitting in the chair from the first time they met and Hela was lounging across the small couch.

"Well it seems you took your time, young god, I was starting to think you had failed." Hela said.

"Actually I think I did pretty good for someone without a proper plan." He replied sharply.

She smirked at him and raised a brow, "You show such pluck to speak to me that way, in that case I commend you on not getting yourself killed."

Fenrir had risen from the floor by that time and not being able to contain his excitement any longer, his form changed into a 15 year old boy, and he jumped on his sister hugging her tightly.

'A 15 year old boy, without clothes on! Avert your eyes!' Neo's brain screamed at him. Neo made a disgusted noise as he turned away, "Geez, put some clothes on, mate, don't you know it's rude to go around mooning people!"

Fenrir just looked at Neo questioningly, "What you just realized that?"

Fenrir then thought of something that put a mischievous grin on his face worthy of the son of the god of Chaos. "You were the one who cared me the whole way from the island to the shore and you never realized I was naked?"

Fenrir laughed evilly when Neo gagged at the idea. Of course being naked didn't matter to Fenrir, he had been going without clothes for so long he no longer cared but it was funny to see his cousins reaction.

"That is enough brother," Hela chastised, "we need to leave for Helheim now."

Neo turned around and Death also looked at the siblings neither missing the look of disappointment on Fenrir's face.

Death, the strangely mother/older sister type that she was, worried about that look. "What's wrong Fenrir? You will be safe in Helheim; Odin would never invade Hela's Realm to find you."

"I-I'm finally free…I don't want to be cooped up again," he turned his eyes to his sister, "Please, can I go somewhere else, I want to see new things, just for a little while?" He was almost whining and it was clear that he would be just as miserable in Helheim right now as he was on the island.

"Then where would you want to go? I have to return to my Realm and there will be no one to watch over you." Hela's words caused Fenrir to hang his head despondently but then Fenrir's eyes looked up at Neo with hope.

Neo rolled his eyes, he could see where this conversation was heading, and decided he would speak-up before he was volunteered again.

"He can come with me. I could use some help finding and freeing Jormungandr and I'm sure Fenrir would be useful in tracking him down. Plus I'll be moving across the country at least until the winter solstice when everything (hopefully) cools down with the gods on Olympus and I can return to Camp Half-Blood. And I swear I will keep him safe while he's with me, you don't even have to ask."

Hela looked at Neo unsurely, "I do not know…"

"It will be fine; I can get him some clothes and have him packed in a minute." Death replied getting up and disappearing in the next step.

That was when Neo realized that Fenrir was stark naked and he turned away, again.

It didn't take long for Death to return with a set of clothes in one hand and a small gray and yellow sling strap backpack in the other.

"Here is one set of clothes," she handed the stack over to Fenrir, "There are two more in the backpack along with a jacket for when it gets cold." She then pulled a box out of thin air, "And these are a very durable tennis shoe."

After getting everything on Fenrir looked like a normal teenager. He was dressed in a black shirt, under a gray zip hoody that ironically had a tribal wolf design on the back, light blue jeans and black tennis shoes. The only thing that stood out was his golden eyes, like he was wearing color contacts, which would be the excuse if anyone asked. His shaggy black hair was as untamable as Neo's but it also made them look related. If it weren't for the difference in body type with Fenrir looking thinner and with lean muscles, and age they could have passed for twins due to being the same height.

"I already have camping stuff, food and money for snacks packed so that should be everything you need. It will mostly be traveling and once we know where we are going we'll just hop on my bike and go." Neo then looked at Hela, "I don't suppose you could tell us where to find Jormungadr?" He asked hopefully.

"I do know where to find him at this time of year. With the changing currents he will most likely be found in the Pacific Ocean, he likes to stay near the Los Angeles coast." Hela responded.

"But be careful Neo, Jormungandr isn't the only one who will be near Los Angeles at this time. Also Hades has placed the gates to the Underworld in Hollywood a place full of lost dreams and unhappy endings. You will have to be careful." Death told him. "If you find yourself having to go to the Underworld though, I would like you to contact me before you do."

"How exactly do I contact you?" he questioned.

"The Ring will help me find you. It provides a connection between us no matter where you are. All you have to do is call to me, like praying, I have heard your prayers before Neo."

Death glanced at Fenrir, "I can't help but feel we are missing something," she pause a second to think, "Aha! I forgot to mention that you might want to go by another name so that Heimdall has a harder time tracking you down."

"This is goodbye again, but I'll see you soon." She said as she hugged Neo without warning. "Be careful." She whispered as Neo and Fenrir were whisked away by a powerful force that sent them away from the realm of the dead and toward Earth.

"You still have not told him." Hela said to Death.

"He will find out whether I tell him or not, right now it is irrelevant anyway, he's not yet ready," Death responded.

_Note: Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I am thankful that this year is almost over, feel free to review. I'm curious what your all thankful for. :)_


	7. Chapter 6

_Author Note: I loved the reviews for the last chapter, and I have some things that I need to tell you and a question that you will hopefully share your feelings on. So please review, I love hearing from everyone!_

_Reader Information: I know that some of my readers may already have realized that elements of this story contain content from the Marvel Universe, such as the fact that Thor and Loki are brothers. In Norse mythology Loki was actually the blood brother of Odin and was a really big jerk, but then again no one is perfect. So the Norse mythology in my story is heavily based off of the Marvel comic book version, a little bit of my imagination, and any research that I have done. That being true I did not list this story as a crossover between Harry Potter/Percy Jackson/Thor because I will be writing a second story (which is in the works) as a sequel to this story that will be based more in the Marvel Universe, but how much the Percy Jackson Universe shows up in the sequel is up to your answers to my question._

_Question to Reviewers: Should Neo(Harry) and Percy be together in my second story, or will their personalities clash too much for them to have a happy relationship?_

_This is rated M for violence and will contain birthday suit wearing males._

_"Blah." = normal speech_

_'Blah.' = thoughts_

_italicized "Blah." = beast speech_

"**Blah.**_" = Cronos talking (because he's an evil berk with a big, deep, dark voice, ergo bold text)_

**The Son of Two**

**Chapter 6**

'Oh great, we're falling again, everything's starting to get redundant,' Neo thought as he and Fenrir were carried through the breach between realms and began to hurtle down toward the Earth from 100 feet in the air.

He grabbed Fenrir from beside him and summoned the wind to carry them slowly down to the ground with an unconscious thought. 'Well I guess this is one way to get better at flying, just drop me out of the sky.' Neo gave a huff of laughter that made Fenrir look at him questioningly.

"What are you laughing about?" the younger looking boy said warily.

"Just enjoying the ride," Neo responded.

"I see, but you will give some warning if you are about to develop a suddenly less than sane way of thinking, yes? I would like to be on the ground before then."

"Why, you scared of heights?"

"No of course not!" Fenrir exclaimed, "I prefer not putting my life in the hands of a madman or someone I do not trust, which has happened once before. The only consolation was I bit off that traitor's hand. He will forever be known as an oath breaker!"

"Uh-huh," Neo's reply was unbelieving as he loosened his grip on his cousin's waist. This caused Fenrir to yelp and hold onto Neo tighter. "Yeah, you're _so_ not afraid of heights. But what do you mean you don't trust me? I literally just saved you from being chained up until the end of time!"

"I was calling you a madman you bumbling buffoon, and don't you dare drop me!" Fenrir yelled into Neo's ear causing Neo's new godlike hearing to start ringing.

Neo noticed that Fenrir must have closed his eyes sometime during his small freak out because he hadn't noticed they were only eight feet from the ground and slowly getting closer. When they reached about three feet Neo completely let go of Fenrir, who in surprise did not try to catch himself. It only took a few seconds for his butt to hit the ground but he let out a very effeminate scream for those two seconds. When he finally opened his eyes he saw he was safely on the ground then blushed slightly at his girly reaction.

Neo just gave him a smug look as his feet touched the ground, "That's for the buffoon comment." Neo paused to get a better look at their surroundings; the scenery was mostly sand dunes.

"I think we're here," Neo said as he offered a hand to Fenrir who grasped it to show that he didn't have any hard feelings over the small incident in the air. After all, he couldn't be held responsible for the way he may or may not have acted out of instinct, so it was best to forget that it ever happened.

Neither of the two could see the sea shore but the sound of waves was coming from beside them so turning in the general direction Neo followed Fenrir over a dune.

Because it was the middle of the night Neo didn't want to head out until the next morning. After stopping Fenrir from going any further, Neo said they should wait until it was light out. He took out the wizard tent that quickly set itself up with a wave of his hand. Then he set up a ward array to repel others from the spot while misdirecting their attention. He was really not missing having to carry around a wand because he was sure if he still needed one it would have somehow broken by now leaving him powerless. With the tent and wards set up they went inside.

As Neo cooked something to eat they talked about what they would do tomorrow. They would need to rent a boat to take them out into the middle of the water so they could find Jormungandr. It would be even more difficult to free the Sea Serpent then it had been to free Fenrir. Neither knew what kind of bond kept Jormungandr in the Midgardian Seas, but they both knew they would try everything they needed to get him out.

It was strange to think about how the legends had depicted the days of Ragnarok. It was said that the Midgard Serpent grew so big that he wrapped all the way around the world and could bite his own tail. The legends also say that if Jormungandr ever released his tail that Midgard would fly apart no longer being held together. Fenrir was supposed to be released from his chains after the Sun and Moon were eaten by giant wolves, but Neo had already freed him and the Moon was glowing brightly above their tent right now. 'I wonder if I really will start some kind of cosmic apocalypse by freeing him, or maybe someone got the future wrong. Or maybe someone changed it?' He thought as he pondered on his little adventure with Hermione to save Sirius in their third year.

Neo then brought up the topic about Death suggesting Fenrir choose an alias which would make it harder for Heimdall to find him. After some debate they settled on the name Adolfus, which is the Latinized form of the German name Adolf, meaning "noble wolf", and Neo would call him Dolf for short.

With their meal done and cleaned away they decided to call it a night. The beds where premade and Fenrir/Dolf was so tired that he was sound asleep before his head touched the pillow. Neo thought about everything that had happened in the last few days after starting his quest. It was difficult to think that it had only been two days. That's when he started to wonder how Percy was doing. It was strange to be concerned about someone he barely knew, but Neo couldn't help wondering what the other had accomplished after leaving camp that morning. Going on a quest and fighting monsters was one heck of a wakeup call to realize the world is a lot bigger than you first thought. Neo also knew that their paths would cross at one point or another. After all, he still had the Master Blot that Percy needed to return to Olympus before the solstice deadline. 'Calling it a deadline is probably the most ironic title,' Neo thought as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

That night his dreams were disturbed by visions of Percy and Annabeth facing off against Medusa. In the end after Percy had cut off Medusa's head, he felt relief and he continued to sleep dreamlessly for the rest of the night.

***Break***

They got up early and made sure to have breakfast. Neo was still surprised at how much he needed to eat now; it was like he was going through multiple growth spurts at the same time. They finished breakfast quickly and then Neo took down the tent and wards packing everything away before they headed to a peer that was off to the right. There were already people moving around on the dock and Neo hoped one of them had a boat for rent. Finally they found a place to rent boats almost a mile from where they had set up camp last night.

After finding out that you needed a boating permit to rent a boat Neo was almost ready to find a few palm trees and rope and just make a raft. Just when they had given up, a man named Mark Hennessy told them that he was going out to sea to enjoy the day on his boat and if they wanted to come along he had plenty of room for two more. Mark Hennessy was of average height, with neatly trimmed salt and pepper hair, muddy brown eyes, and looked to be in his mid-forties, dressed in expensive nautical clothes (he was either rich or having a mid-life crisis). Something about the man set Neo's instincts on high alert but he had no idea what exactly was off about him. Feeling that it would take longer to find someone else willing to take them Neo decided to accept the offer, but that didn't mean he would let his guard down for even a second.

Mark's "small boat" was actually a 30 foot yacht and he had agreed to take them ten miles out into the Ocean. When they finally made it to their destination their generous host cut the engine.

"You boys want anything to drink? I keep water in the cooler," Mark asked. He had come out of the cabin with water bottles that didn't have labels and a gleam in his eye. Alarm bells started going off in his head but Neo was able to maintain a good poker face.

"Oh sure, thanks," Neo replied as he took one of the bottles and watched Fenrir take the other one. When Mark turn around to get another bottle for himself. Neo caught his cousin's eye before Fenrir started to uncap the bottle and shook his head vigorously in warning.

"My family decided to have a day out, but Dolf and I didn't want to go to a Museum, so we were going to rent a boat and spend some time out on the water," Neo uncapped the water and took a sniff and Fenrir, who did the same, afterward the wolf god glared at the man's back. It was almost unrecognizable but there was definitely something in the water that wasn't supposed to be there.

Neo knew that Mark most likely added a sleeping drug to the water, and he really didn't want to know why. In the minute that Mark was distracted Neo grabbed Fenrir's water and taking both bottles tilted them up against the side of the yacht and poured them down the side and into the water to prevent making a splashing noise. He poured out enough to look like they had taken a drink and then thrust Fenrir's back into his hand.

"Follow my lead," he whispered.

Mark turned back around with a bottle that had a blue label, adding to his suspicion, and Neo watched his face, "Well that sounds like a good idea; I had the same one when I woke up this morning. My wife will be out all day at the salon so I decided to take my new yacht out for awhile."

'There,' Neo caught the split second look of anticipation that crossed Mark's face, 'He must be expecting the drugs to work by now they must be fast acting.'

Neo started to let his eyes droop and glanced over at Fenrir out of the corner of his eye. The wolf god was doing a good job of pretending to have a hard time keeping his head up. A few seconds later they both pretended to fall out of their seats and onto the bottom of the yacht.

"Heh, works every time," the man commented as he picked up the bottles from the ground and dropped them in a waste basket. "It's sad that your just kids but you fell for it so easily," he mumbled almost pityingly, "Oh well, Lord Hades will be pleased with your sacrifice anyway."

Neo didn't like the sound of that. The sound of footsteps made him crack open his eyes. Seeing the retreating form of Mark, Neo silently got up from the deck while he directed Marvápn to change form. He walked up behind the unsuspecting man and knocked him out with a tap to the back of his skull using a baton.

"So this was not the first time that man has kidnapped someone." Fenrir commented as he picked himself up off the deck. "But what did he mean sacrifice?"

Before Neo could hazard a guess there was a strange noise that made them stop. Neo saw Fenrir's eyes widen as he caught a glimpse of something behind him. Turning around Neo saw what his cousin was looking at and his face mimicked Fenrir's expression of shock.

Almost five hundred feet away from the boat the water seemed to bulge as if something underneath the water was starting to surface. Whatever was creating the disturbance was rapidly coming toward them. Still a fair distance away it breached the surface, at first it looked like a mountain was rising up out of the Ocean. As the phenomenon continued Neo saw what he had assumed were rocks start to move but instead of falling back into the water they shifted to reveal the head of a giant monster. The exoskeleton like plates moved to reveal a hideous head and the monster opened its giant maw letting out a loud roar that revealed many rows of huge razor sharp teeth.

"Okay, no need to freak out, it's just a demented turtle," Neo said out loud trying to lighten the obviously dangerous situation they were facing.

"What is that creature?" Fenrir asked from beside his cousin.

"Ask me later, I can't tell you right now! I'm too busy figuring out how to get us out of here!" Neo yelled over the deafening noise of the monster roaring again.

He watched as the creature continued to rise out of the water. Its giant tentacle like appendages, were thrashing about causing the water to churn and toss the yacht with large waves. The monsters eyes locked onto Neo and he shuddered at the hungry look.

One of the tentacle-like limbs came out of the water to wrap around the yacht. Neo reacted instantly, summoning Marvápn's great sword form he slashed at the monster lopping off its grey limb that dissolved into gold dust. Marvápn easily cut through the creature's thick hide causing it to roar in pain and recoil. This only seemed to anger the beast more. The monster raised a clawed hand and brought it down mightily toward the yacht. The two cousins barely had enough time to jump over the side of the boat as it was smashed to pieces, but Neo took a moment to notice their would be kidnapper/killer had not been as lucky.

It took a while to swim back up to the surface after the undertow created by the monster dragged him down, but when his head finally rose above the water Neo gasped in a much needed breath of air. Searching for Fenrir he was relieved to see him surface beside him.

Neo looked up as the monster roared again, the noise making the water vibrate, and saw that it was looking right at him again. Another spike of fear shot through him, because he knew that monster was ready to kill him. Neo realized he had lost his sword and tried to summon it back but it must have gone down farther than he had because it seemed to take forever to return. Staring the creature in the eyes he saw it poise to strike again when he heard a familiar sound, it was the cry of a falcon.

A streak of silver headed straight towards the giant beasts eye and Neo saw Argyros gouge out its right eye before he circled down toward Neo who felt Marvápn finally slip into his grasp.

"How did you find me?" he shouted in surprise when the silver falcon came close enough to hear.

"_I will follow you into the depths of Tartarus! Not even the gods will be able to send you to a place I cannot follow!_" The mercurial bird vowed. "_Why are you still in this creature's domain? Why have you not flown away?_"

"I can't leave him," Neo said gesturing to Fenrir, "and I can't fight while I'm carrying someone!"

Neo and Fenrir where forced under the water again as the monster's thrashing created waves that threatened to drown them.

Surfacing a second time Fenrir was surprised when the falcon flew over to him and actually lifted him up out of the water. Neo would have laughed at his cousin's comically surprised look if it wasn't still dangerous.

"_I will take him to land so you can kill this overgrown fish._" Argyros said as he flew away back to the shore.

Neo then used his power to lift him up out of the water.

The ugly creature was starting to recover from the loss of its eye and it looked madder than ever. Two whip-like limbs went flying at him and Neo moved his great sword in front of him making the monster slice off its own tentacles on his blade.

Unfortunately he did not see the tentacle that came from behind catching him around the middle. The beast roared again in triumph bringing Neo closer to its face. He didn't forget that he had his sword and he brought it down on the crushing tentacle.

Neo was worried because he really didn't see a way out of this; the monster was going to kill him eventually no matter how much he hurt it because he didn't have the power to kill it. After that depressing though a useful idea finally popped into his head. He remembered the two headed dog and his fight with Clarisse. He had the ability to control lightning and the huge creature was standing in one of the world's best conductors for electricity!

His epiphany came too slow, the beast had him again and this time it had seized him with so much force he could feel his ribs start to fracture. It was hard to breathe and the pain was blinding, but Neo knew that he had to work through it, 'Being injured is better than being dead.'

He focused on the power running just under his skin, that electric surge that was his power to summon lightning, and created a huge storm cloud. The rumble of thunder was almost drowning out the creature's roars. It took a moment for the electricity to build up and Neo watched as the monster brought him close to its face again. Just before it would have swallowed him whole, he summoned the lightning and sent all of it through the top of the giant beasts head.

The monster slowly started to dissolve into golden sand, giving a dramatic and showy end to the fight. Neo breathed a sigh of relief.

However his relief seemed destined to be short lived. His vantage point in the sky gave him the chance to see another larger figure coming straight toward him from underneath the water. Neo had enough time for one pessimistic thought before he started to see a large serpentine-like creature with a spiky scaled hide rise from the water. It almost looked like a cross between a bearded dragon lizard and a cobra, but it was probably larger than the world's tallest skyscraper, and that was just the part that was out of the water! The sea serpent stopped its ascent when it was eye level with the young warrior staring at him with its ice blue eyes.

"_Well done,_" a masculine voice spoke telepathically.

Neo would admit that those were not the first words he would have guessed this creature would say.

"_I am Jormungandr, the World Serpent, can you understand me?_"

"Uh, yeah," Neo was a little too surprised to voice a more wordy response.

"_Judging by your power you must be the Son of Thor Hela spoke of in a vision, which would also mean, you are here to free me. Did you just decide to defeat the Kraken while you were at it?_" Jormungandr asked in amusement.

"That was the Kraken!?"

"_Yes, and you really rung his bell so again, well done._" Jormungandr's large head tilted to the side before he spoke again, "_I have revealed myself to you, are you not here to free me?_"

"What's stopping you from just…uhm, slithering, onto the land?" This was one question that Neo had been wondering since he started this little side trip courtesy of Loki and Hela.

"_Odin bound me to the Midgard Seas, by the power of his magic I cannot leave the water. I can only be free once the binding has been broken._" Jormungandr explained patiently.

"I don't know if I can do that, but if you swear an oath that you will not seek revenge against Asgard or any other world I will do everything I can to help." Neo promised.

"_I have no quarrel with Asgard and I would never hurt this world, Midgard is my true home. I would just like the chance to walk on land and not be bound to the Seas. I promise that I will not seek vengeance for my imprisonment after I am free._" The giant serpent's words rang with truth and power, giving Neo an assurance that he meant it.

Thinking about his options Neo knew that there would be nothing physical to break like when he freed Fenrir, so he would have to focus on the magic. There are different types of bindings such as binding spells which are used to control a person's actions or bind their magic rendering them powerless, and should not be confused with a binding-field that keeps them from leaving an area and keeping their power contained inside.

Binding-fields follow the same basic principles as protection circles but are slightly more complex. A binding-field can bind a person and/or their magic to a location by using a ward placed around the perimeter and centered on a keystone that is keyed to a specific person, which is commonly a rune stone in the ground or a piece of jewelry that cannot be removed. But if Odin had used one of those it would probably have just made sure that Jormugandr stayed on Earth.

Neo was almost curtain that he was dealing with a binding spell that was cast on the large serpent, because it would have been easier to bind him by casting a spell on Jormungandr that specifically bound him to water leaving him unable to come on land.

Then again, Odin is the King of the Norse gods and you don't gain a title like that without eventually becoming paranoid, so the magic binding could even be a combination of both types. Knowing his luck he was willing to bet money that it was the last option.

Neo unfortunately didn't have any knowledge on seidr magic which left him only one option, to use his Mage Sight and see if he could find a way to unravel the magic, almost like pulling a thread on a knitted sweater.

He paused to calculate the amount of magic he still currently had. Neo seemed to have most of it so he was ready anytime, but he would need to find a place to touchdown so that he didn't have to split his focus between breaking the binding and flying, he would either whined-up falling out of the sky or making a mistake with his magic. Spotting a large piece of the yacht still floating on the water he landed.

Neo opened up his senses before activating the Sight to try and pinpoint the magic cast on Jormungandr. He found a deceptively small focus point for a strong binding-field (the point is small but the magic is god level powerful) that was coming from somewhere at the top of the serpents head.

He activated his Mage Sight at the same time he opened his eyes. Neo could see the magic working all across the Midgard Serpents body.

'Just my luck,' he thought as he saw several powerful binding spells wrapped around his cousin like Gleipnir was wrapped around Fenrir, 'But it looks like Odin used the same concept he had when he chained Fenrir.'

Neo noticed that all of the binding spells were focused on an anchor that was on the top of Jormungandr's head, and the anchor was the keystone for a massive binding-field that floated just above the serpents head and seemed to stretch around the globe fading off into the distance where he could no longer see it.

"I need you to come down here, the spell is anchored to something on your head and I need to see it." Neo gestured for Jormungandr to come closer and the giant figure complied.

"_Have you figured out how to free me? That didn't take long?_" Jormugandr said in jest.

"If you cut an anchor on a boat it will drift out to sea with the tide. The same principle applies to magic, if you destroy the anchor for a spell the magic will unravel and "drift" away quickly without the keystone to hold it together," the young magus replied.

When Neo looked at the top of the serpents head he found something strange. Wrapped around one of the scales was a metal band the size of a ring that was obviously the anchor, but weaved around the ring was another spell, an enchantment that can only be broken when the conditions are met.

His Mage Sight made quick work of translating the Old Norse words of power into something he could understand. Actually translate is the wrong word, it was like he was quickly being taught the language by gaining the knowledge through his magic. The spell was visible before his eyes and what it said made Neo feel like paying a visit to a senile old god and give him a piece of his mind. 'Honestly what kind of condition is this? How could someone be such a giant berk!?' He once again glanced at the spell writing that hadn't changed, still spelling out:

_"Whosoever wishes to free this Son of Loki, if he has strength enough to lift him from the waters, shall set him FREE!"_

It was a surprisingly straight forward spell, all Neo would have to do is lift a giant snake that can wrap itself around the planet out of the Ocean.

"How in the bloody hell am I supposed to do that?" He questioned snidely. "It's impossible!" Neo huffed out a sigh of frustration. Then he got an idea, 'If I have enough strength to lift him from the water, huh? But it doesn't say I have to lift all of him from the water.'

Neo took another look around and that's when he saw his best scenario. The binding-field had not moved! It was still hovering in the sky just under the clouds. If Neo could raise Jormungandr's head past the perimeter of the binding-field the field will be disrupted and the whole thing should crumble like a dried-up clump of dirt, which would cause the anchor to over load as the power surges back toward it due to no longer having to power the field. With the anchor overpowered it would break under the pressure of so much magic and no longer be able to sustain the binding spells.

The smirk that spread across his face at this new plan was a quarter smug, a quarter joyful and half vindictive, 'Ha! Take this Odin.' Neo thought.

"Alright I've got a plan!" he exclaimed to the sea serpent as he flew up into the sky again.

Looking down at Jormungandr from above he realized the snake was too big to get a grip on him, 'I need some kind of sling or rope,' as he thought this the chain wrapped around his right band started to grow longer and seemed to work with his will as it plunged into the water and wrapped once around Jormungandr before soaring back up to land in his left hand.

"Wicked," he whispered in awe. "I don't get how, but that was brilliant."

This time his words were directed at his scaly cousin, "Hold on it looks like there's only one way out and that's up." With that little warning he flexed his muscles slowly and tightened his hands around the chain as he called for a wind that could literally move a mountain.

It was slow at first but as they started to gain more momentum the pace quickened. Jormugandr was staying as still and silent as he could so that he wouldn't disturb the young warrior or cause unnecessary strain.

Neo started to worry as they reached about half way to the top of the ward. He could feel his power waning and he was worried that they wouldn't make it, but he kept going.

A few minutes later they were almost there, it would only take another 200 feet, gritting his teeth he repeated two words "come on" over and over in his head. He was actually cool in his jacket which had somehow remained dry after his impromptu swim, but the magical and physical strain making him sweat had his clothes sticking to him even as the powerful wind whipped around him. Sweat was pouring down his face and stinging his eyes. He had to force air back into his lungs with every breath.

Ten feet away from the ward he gasped as a sharp pain went through his chest followed by a weak feeling in his arms, like he suddenly lost all of his strength. As he started falling back down to the Ocean he gathered all of his resolve and forced his magic to lift him up higher.

"I will…not…FAIL!" Thunder rumbled through the sky as he yelled the last word. Dark clouds swirled around them quickly forming a hurricane sized lightning storm. Suddenly large bolts of lightning seemed to surge out of the clouds and struck Neo point blank in the chest, but instead of harming him he felt better then when he woke up that morning.

Reinvigorated he willed the air to lift him up over the ward and with shear strength he brought Jormugandr the rest of the way while having to struggle with the ward to let the anchor pass through.

A shattering noise like thousands of glass windows breaking simultaneously sounded through the air and the ward crumbled into fragments of magic that returned to the cosmic energy that magic came from. Neo heard a metallic snapping sound and looked over at Jormungandr's head to see the metal ring broken. That's when the binding spells started to unravel and the magic again returned to wherever it came from. Neo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Sea wasn't boiling and the mountains weren't falling and everything was exactly how it was a moment ago.

***Meanwhile on Asgard***

The Kings Guard watched as the Allfather seemed to falter in his step, fortunately Odin was able to seize a hold of his throne and steady himself. The guards held back any sign of worry, after all they were warriors of Asgard, but Frigga did not restrain her show of concern as she stepped closer.

"Are you well my husband?" she asked as her hand hovered between them in the air ready to help if he needed her.

"I am fine," he said dismissively as he walked out of the throne room but that was far from true. Odin had felt the magic he cast on the Midgard Serpent break. This was most distressing, he had already put off the Odinsleep to assure that Thor's coronation was successful and he could pass control of Asgard to his son before he needed to rest. But it seemed that another problem must be dealt with before that time. What else will go wrong before he is allowed to sleep?

Only a day ago he had to send the guards to Lyngvi after Heimdall reported something had happened. When they arrived, all the guards found were the remains of the mountain Thviti and the surprising lack of a well-known wolf. They tracked the wolf as fast as they could through the islands forest until they reached a cliff where the wolf appeared to have jumped. When they looked closer they found another set of tracks that seemed to belong to a man but no one knew from what realm. A trace of them was found on the shore of Lake Amsvartnir but they were long gone and seemed to have vanished from that very spot.

Now Jormungandr was also free and Odin new it must be the same culprit. What madness would possess someone to unleash Ragnarok willingly? It was he, Odin Borrson, who imprisoned those creatures to protect the nine realms. He would find the fool that dared to go against him, and he would kill him!

"Heimdall!" he shouted as he came to the gate of the Rainbow Bridge.

"Yes my King?" he replied calmly, appearing unperturbed by the sudden visit, the guardian always knew when Odin would seek him out and now was no different.

"You know something has happened. Tell me, did you see who freed the Midgard Serpent from my spell?"

"I see and hear all, my King, but alas I was unable to see what transpired. My sight was blocked, by what or who I cannot say." The loyal guard replied. "But I can see that what you fear is true. Jormugandr Lokison is free."

***With Neo Right After the Binding Broke***

Neo lowered Jormungandr back into the water a little faster than when they were going up. He knew that Jormungandr was still as heavy as a moment ago but he didn't even break a sweat on the way down. It was odd, but Neo merely attributed it to the earlier power surge. When Jormungandr was back in the water Neo released Gleipnir and it unwound from the large snake and returned to its place around his wrist.

"_Thank you, I owe you for this. I'm pretty sure you're the only one who would have helped me._" The sincere gratitude was very present in Jormungandr's words.

Neo rubbed the back of his neck in his usual nervous habit, "No worries, it was nothing, but what are you going to do now? You've obviously been doing a fantastic job of staying hidden all this time, at least everyone still thinks you're a legend. I'm just saying you're not very subtle. I know you wanted to be free so that you could go on land, but I'm pretty sure it would be really hard to not notice a giant snake coming out of the Ocean. What will you do when someone sees you?"

"_I guess you'll find out, but for now let's go find my little brother._" Leaving no chance for Neo to argue, Jormugandr quickly crossed the distance from where they were to the beach as his large body seemed to glide through the water at a rate most Speed Boat enthusiasts would envy.

As they got closer to shore Neo could see a small cove. Surrounding the cove in a half circle was an almost completely vertical rock face that only let out into the water. It was a small private area and at high tide it would have been completely invisible under the water. The cove was disserted except for the familiar figure of Fenrir standing on the sand at the water's edge. Neo wondered where Argyros had gone to but looking around he soon found his feathered companion dive bombing the water and catching small fish for his lunch.

Jormungandr was ahead of Neo but before he reached the shore the Sea Serpent dove under the water. The new Demigod thought it was odd but took the chance to set his feat on the ground again before he turned to the water with a curious look.

It didn't take long before someone came out of the water. A very male someone, who was slightly taller than Neo or Fenrir and had the muscled body of an American Football linebacker, of course this someone was also dressed in nothing but their birthday suit. Neo just closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Seriously, what is it with the male population suddenly taking time out of the day to flash their family jewels at me? Is it some kind of cosmic sign? Is this really my life now? First I get thrown into a war between gods, then I have to help stop said war, and now I've got fantastic looking men parading themselves around in front of me completely starkers! What's next?!" At the end of his frustrated rant Neo had raised his voice slightly but he still heard the deep chuckle that obviously came from the new mystery man.

"Oh stop whining your fine; I however could use some clothes as you so delicately put it," the man replied in a British-American voice that was smooth and deep.

Neo opened his eyes and glared at the new comer until he realized the significance of looking into those ice blue eyes, set into a late twenty something year old face.

"How?" he asked in confusion.

Jormungandr just smirked at his perplexed cousin, "What, did you honestly think I wouldn't have a few tricks up my sleeve? I am a Son of Loki, and he has the uncanny ability to look like an Asgardian when you and I both know he's a frost giant. So it makes since that his children can shape-shift."

Neo nodded, "Sure, why not? But I still prefer the animagus spell, at least when you change back into a human you still have your clothes on." Neo stated blandly as he reached for his locket.

Fenrir took the chance to hug his brother, making Neo chuckle at the absurdity of him hugging someone who was still without clothes at the time. 'Apparently one of my cousins is a hugger. But I guess it makes since, wolves are pack creatures and usually show affection.'

After retrieving his bag and pulling out a set of swimming trunks he vaguely remember packing, Neo handed them to his cousin saying, "These should fit you. I think you're a little bigger than me but it will work for now."

When the snake turned man was done, Neo took a closer look at the dirty blonde haired man (He previously had the unfortunate pleasure of finding out that blonde was his cousin's natural color). Jormungadr's human figure was buff and chiseled. His face was square, with a straight nose, short hair in a razor cut that trailed down in sideburns and no facial hair. His ice blue eyes were crystal clear, but the most interesting thing about him was his mouth. When Jormungandr smiled it would make any interested person swoon, but as charming as his smile was his grin was almost scary, it was all teeth and showed off his fang-like canines.

"What do we do now?" Fenrir questioned, "You completed the quest."

"I'm not sure, I was only asked to free you, but I know Hela was planning to give you shelter in Helheim. So I guess that was going to be the next step. The only problem with that plan is you already said you didn't want to go, and I'm sure you would rather stay in Midgard, right Jo?" Neo aimed his last question at Jormungandr.

"Jo?" the older brother asked instead of answering.

"Yeah, I can't go around calling you Jormungandr all of the time; (1) I'm not even sure I'm saying it right and (2) it's bound to get us found if we us it in public. I've been calling Fenrir Dolf in public incase someone's looking for us." Neo explained.

"You said us," Fenrir interrupted.

Neo glanced over at him in confusion. "What?"

"My brother has a point," Jormungandr said, "You said "_us_". Whether you meant to or not, you have already made a choice, we are in this together now." Jormungandr gave a smile to his new family member. "So the question _I_ should be asking _you_; where are we going to go from here…Neo?"

This new turn caused Neo to think about the meaning of what his cousins said. "So wherever we are going, we go together," he smiled back, "I like the sound of that, and I guess the first thing we need to do is get you some real clothes."

Everyone laughed at that and agreed to head into the city to do some shopping and find a hotel before it started to get too late.

The prices of clothes in the city were outrageous in Neo's opinion. Thankfully they were able to find a thrift store that still sold clothing that was better than anything he had ever owned as Harry. Unknown to the three men, they had attracted a sizable crowd of female onlookers that had spotted the three amazingly handsome young men and were trying to remain inconspicuous as the lingered nearby.

They found four sets of clothes that fit Jormungadr and also a bag to keep everything in, which was when Jormungandr demonstrated his ability at magic by using a sorcerer's trick to place it in a pocket space he could summon it from later while there were no mortals watching.

The minute after that little display was spent by Neo begging Jormungandr to teach him how to create a pocket dimension. His cousin readily agreed, Jormungandr would use the time teaching to also practice and make sure he hadn't gotten too rusty.

Exiting the store Neo noticed someone waiting for them. Standing on the sidewalk and leaning against the light post in front of the store was Loki.

It was easy to tell when Fenrir had spotted his father, "Pabbi!" the wolf god yelled in childlike glee. He sprinted the last few steps to Loki and flung himself forward.

Loki caught his youngest son in his arms and embraced him. With his eyes closed and head bowed toward his son Loki basked in the moment. He was finally holding his son again after so many years. Loki looked up after a moment to see his other son and smiled. Jormungandr's eyes were full of happiness as he watched his father and brother share that moment.

"My son," the trickster god spoke to his oldest as he shifted his clinging son to his left side and opened up his right arm in silent request to Jormungandr.

Jormungandr stepped into the hug and wrapped his arms around Loki and Fenrir. This happy reunion was making Neo feel like a third wheel until Loki's hand rested on his shoulder.

"Thank you," Loki said to him, "I will never be able to repay you."

"You don't have to, that's what family is for," Neo responded simple. His heart was content with what he said, his family may have started out small after he was reborn, but it was still his family and it was growing. First were Remus and Sirius, and then his father's Thor and Hermes, and now Loki, Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hela.

Neo had never really felt like part of the Dursley family, and his friends had never really made it to the level of family like Sirius and Remus. In his life as Harry, Ron had been too wishy-washy and selfish to make it past (sometimes) best friend. Hermione came close to being a sister but her pride and know-it-all attitude had gotten in the way a little too much.

Even the three romantic relationships he had in Hogwarts were lacking any real connection. Daphne Greengrass was a spit-fire of a girl, and even though she presented a challenge for him, he still found himself falling for her. But her pretense of being an ice queen in public had the flame of passion going out as quickly as it was lit and their time together was over in a week. Then there was Bernard Jones a shy Hufflepuff boy who plucked-up the courage to ask him out, and he accepted willing to give it a try. That relationship lasted a whole two months, which surprisingly was kept a secret for most of that time, but it was not meant to last. Bernard was too shy to stand-up to the rumors and bullying that he received when their relationship became public knowledge, and he politely requested that they see other people. His last relationship was with Ginny, and it ended when he realized that she only cared about being the girlfriend of Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived.

For his horrible record as Harry Potter when it came to family and friends, it seemed this new life was a second chance to have something good. Neo thought it was karma for all of the things he had to put up with before and he was crossing his fingers that it stayed that way.

When it appeared that the moment between the small family was over everyone reluctantly let go of each other. Fenrir seemed to still need a little more comforting because when he let go of Loki his hand almost unconsciously latched onto Neo's. Not having the heart to complain about his actions at present Neo decided to carry on as if it weren't happening.

"What are you doing here Faðr?" Jormungandr asked.

"Explanations can wait; I think we should find a place to stay for the night."

Fenrir seemed to perk-up like a puppy as he asked, "You're staying?"

"Yes," Loki responded with his classic amused smirk.

The nearest hotel with a good reputation was a Holiday Inn and it had been completely booked for summer vacation. That is until a room with two beds and fold-out couch had been vacated that morning. It would be fine but the receptionist was concerned that the only room they had, was still short one place to sleep. It took a moment for the men to assure the worried woman that it would be fine and thank her for the room.

Due to the room needing cleaning it would take an hour for it to be ready, so they went out to eat at a local diner. When the waiter had taken their order and returned with drinks, Neo cast a muffliato charm with a wave disguised as a hand twitch.

"What are you doing here? I recall the last time I saw you; you were worried about being missed. This was right after you dumped me on an island, on another planet! Not that I'm not grateful, thank you."

Fenrir snickered when he remembered the conversation he had with his cousin while escaping, "You're just whining because you didn't have an escape plan and needed rescuing," he stated.

Neo glanced placidly at Fenrir over his glass as he took a sip of water, "Sure, that could be the reason, or it could be the fact that an obviously concerned father wouldn't take the time to see his son. I'm not sure I want to know the answer but," Neo sighed, "I can understand anxiety, nervousness, even fear, so why did you leave me so far away? Why not take me closer and at least see your son before you left?"

The table had gone silent and Neo noticed that none of the Asgardians would look him in the eye. Finally someone spoke.

"The Allfather forbid it, there was to be no contact between us. He even went so far as to create a barrier that would keep me out." Loki said, his voice was barely above a whisper and filled with sadness.

A spear of agony pierced his heart and his hand clenched involuntarily. The glass he was holding broke into small shards. When he glanced down cautiously thinking he would find his hand mutilated he gasped in shock. His hand was fine, even though it was covered in shards and lay among them on top of the soaked table none had pierced the skin.

Neo blinked and the next thing he saw was the glass shards had vanished and the table was dry. He looked up to Loki when he saw his uncle lower his hand back down to the table.

"You have inherited your Father's strength. It will take more than that to injure you," Neo was going to say something when Loki kept talking, "Did you know that an Asgardian child is just like a human child? They start out as such fragile beings but as they age they get stronger. A young Æsir is not born powerful; it takes time for their abilities and power to develop, as they become a person their power molds to their personality or they are taught a skill by someone, like my Mother taught me."

"Frigga taught you?" Neo asked.

Loki smiled kindly, "Yes Frigga, your grandmother."

As his Nephew sat their giving him a questioning look, Loki wondered what had Neo thinking so hard, "Do you not know who Frigga is?"

"No, I know who she is. Frigga is the Queen of Asgard, and the wife of Odin the King of Asgard. She adopted and raised two Crown Princes of Asgard, Thor and Loki. I learned this while I was a child, and when I read a book on Norse Mythology given to me by Hecate it confirmed it. Frigga is my adopted grandmother." Neo didn't know if this was a good idea or not, he really wasn't the right person to explain this to Loki. 'Just another thing the Allfather failed at,' he thought.

Neo leaned closer over the table, "Do you want to know what else I know? You are my Uncle, you are the brother of Thor, and the son of Frigga and Odin. No matter how misguided his reasoning was Odin must have thought it was better to not tell you. If you have never questioned the truth before, that means there was no action or word to the contrary. Odin and Frigga love you and I know that Thor loves you too. I also know that you're not the only one in this family who had to find out the truth was being kept from them."

Neo paused to study Loki's face. His Uncle showed no signs of closing himself off, in fact Loki let his shock show on his face and was giving Neo his full attention. "I didn't know anything about my real parents until I was 11 years old. The first ten years of my life I was told that my mother was a useless woman who married a no-good alcoholic and they died when my Father crashed while driving drunk. Those ten years I lived with my "family" telling me that I was a terrible burden and that they were doing me a kindness by letting me live in the cupboard under the stairs, and because I was such a burden it was only right that they used me like a slave to repay that kindness. Then when I turned eleven I was found by my parents old Headmaster who sent someone to take me to the magic school that my parents had gone to. Not only did I find out that I have magic, but they told me that my parents died by sacrificing themselves for me (which is mostly true). I was so overwhelmed but I didn't have time to think about the cruel thing that my relative had done to me by lying. When it was all in the open I knew I could not let myself contemplate the "what if's" and "should have been's" the only way to go was forward. I accepted it and moved on. I became a man that my parents would be proud of, so that when the Dursley's saw the man I was they would be ashamed of the way they treated me. So please listen to me, you were raised by parents that love you, that's a lot more than some." Neo smiled sadly at Loki who returned the look.

They ate in silence while Loki quietly thought over his nephews words. Neo was right, he may not have been a strong warrior like Thor but his brother always counted on him in battle, and when Thor needed help Loki was the first one he turned to. Odin had always treated him like a son and Loki could never ask for a better mother than Frigga. He may have had trouble with other Asgardians who thought he was less than what a Prince should be, but he always knew that his parents and brother loved him and believed in him. Odin had always raised him as a son and nothing less, and Frigga was the one who taught him magic. The memories of his family have always comforted him and made his stronger.

Loki thought of what Neo had done. By telling Loki the truth to his face he exposed a truth that could have had catastrophic results if it had been discovered any other way. Neo also wasn't making excuses for Odin, which left the chance for the Allfather to explain for himself. And if something were to happen that estranged him from his family in Asgard he now had his sons and daughter, it also appeared he had his nephew. Loki remembered what else his nephew had said, 'So it seems there are mortals that need to be taught what happens when someone hurts _MY_ family.'

After he finished eating Fenrir interrupted the quiet, "So you never answered the question why you are here. Did something happen?"

Loki looked at his youngest son and wondered if he should tell the truth. Fenrir seemed to have read his mind when he said, "And I'll know if you're lying."

Loki sighed before he answered calmly, "Someone tried to kill me."

"What!?" the other three asked at the same time.

"After I had returned to Asgard Odin spoke to me about renewing the peace treaty between Jotunheim and Asgard, I volunteered to go. I left a duplicate in my place and I took the old paths instead of the Bifrost so that no one would see me leave, because emissaries of Asgard are usually under threat by Jotunheim. I was expecting an ambush and I wasn't wrong but I easily avoided capture.

"When I returned I discovered that my duplicate had been assassinated in my place. There was no trace of the culprit though, so I disguised myself and went to find out why the guards were not on alert. I found my answer in the throne room when I saw someone who looked like me speaking to Odin. There are not many sorcerers on Asgard who would dare assassinate a Crown Prince and try to pass themselves off as that Prince, so it could only have been someone confident in their ability to fool someone as powerful as Odin, and after following my look-a-like I saw them meet someone I recognized before they changed back. It was Amora disguised as me meeting her most loyal pawn, Skurge the Executioner.

"Amora's is known as the Enchantress, her magic is focused on charming and mind-control, but it is not limited to that. She is renowned for her beauty, but she has dedicated herself to the pursuit of power and pleasure, she uses her magic and beauty as a weapon. She may be famous for her beauty but she is infamous for her scheming. She has lured many pawns to her side by showing them affection and controlling their minds with her charm.

"I heard her speak about Thor's coronation, they are planning to help the Jotun's break into Asgard to sabotage the coronation and start war between Asgard and Jotunheim. Amora's misguided idea of helping Thor is to give him a reason to wipeout his enemies so that no one will threaten his reign of Asgard. The Jotun's will be heading to Odin's war vault to take the Casket of Winters, but they will either be caught by the guards or killed by the Destroyer who guards the vault. Still if the coronation is interrupted it may insight Thor to retaliate. If the Jotun's cannot be stopped then Thor must be. War between Asgard and Jotunheim will bring destruction to the Nine Realms."

"She must be stopped, and if her actions bring danger to Midgard I will destroy her and her puppet," Jormungandr said with complete sincerity.

"I did not know you had such feelings."

Jormungandr look his father in the eye, "Midgard is my home."

"So we'll be saving the Universe then?" Neo asked with a grin, "That's good. Here I was thinking it would be something hard."

"I will not ask that of you. Amora possesses a magic you know nothing about. I will deal with her and her scheming," Loki said firmly thinking that his rejection would be the end of it.

Neo however had a better argument, "How are you going to do that when you have to stay in disguise? Besides someone has to keep an eye on Amora while the other stops the Jotun's from entering Asgard. The attack can be stopped in Jotunheim if you explaining that Amora betrayed them and if it cannot be stopped there we," Neo gestured to himself and the two brothers, "will be able to stop them before they are killed, hopefully without alerting the guards. Odin will find out about the surprise attack eventually, and if we succeed he will owe a debt to Fenrir and Jo. A debt which would put him in a tight spot because if he imprisons the ones who saved Asgard, even if it is the Midgard Serpent and Fenrisulfr, it will look bad for him. And if you're so worried about my lack of Æsir magical knowledge you could always teach me."

Loki's mind quickly worked to pick apart the plan his nephew had come up with. "You are right; Amora is dangerous while she is assuming my likeness so she must be watched. The coronation is in seven days, the winter solstice in five, it will give you time to complete your quest and I will travel with you to teach you my magic. Five days may not be enough to teach you everything I know but it will suffice to train you against Amora. However it will be too late to stop the Jotun attack by then.

"We will go to Asgard when you are done here, and I have no doubt that Thor will claim you as his son, which will give you access to the royal family chambers. I will give you access to my rooms so that you can enter and set spying spells to watch Amora. She is not foolish enough to tell the Frost Giants how to enter Asgard she will be guiding them passed the wall. But you must be careful she has already attempted to kill me, she may do the same to you if she thinks you know anything about her plan."

What about us?" Jormungadr asked, meaning Fenrir and himself.

"There's probably no one on Asgard who would recognize your forms, right? So you will be introduced as my cousins from the Olympic Pantheon, Adolfus and Jo." Neo said.

"Well it appears that you make a good argument. We will have a lot of training in the next few days," Loki stood to leave but was stopped.

"Wait we haven't had dessert, and if there is one thing I know, Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts. Coincidence? I think not!" Neo quoted as he picked up his menu to look at that delicious looking chocolate cake again.

The meal was good and the desserts received high praise from the two Sons of Loki. When they returned to a clean hotel room, it did not take long for everyone to fall asleep. Even Neo who transfigured a bed from the room's desk chair, was out after sending a quick text to his Dad, "Had a gr8 day the beach, took the dog for a swim, found Uncle H's demented turtle, and saw a really big snake. – N"

Neo was asleep before Hermes replied, "Sounds like fun, wish I was there to see it. - Dad"

***Break***

That night Neo had a dream about Luke. In the dream Neo appeared in a dark and crumbling Throne room. It took him a moment to remember that he had seen that particular Throne before. It was the same one from his last vision-dream, the one Cronos had sat on after he defeated his father the Sky. Neo then saw Luke speaking to someone he couldn't see but he could feel their power, dark and evil, and he knew who it was, Cronos. They spoke about two stolen items and then Luke left. Neo wondered why the vision had not ended and received his answer when another showed up.

Travis, Neo's sparring partner, became visable in the room.

"Hah, that looser has no idea you're using him." Travis snickered.

Cronos answered in a twisted voice that echoed off the walls, "**No he is caught up in his own self-fulfilling prophecy, soon I will have complete control of him then I will tear down Olympus and finally destroy my despicable children. There is only one thing that concerns me now. The power of the Death realms has grown and the chains of Tartarus are becoming stronger once more. I do not know what is happening but if it continues I will not be able to escape. The dead whisper of one called the Master of Death who is spreading influence in the realms. Death is a great power; any emissary it chooses will be great as well. One who can control Death has power greater than any god. I have another mission for you, find this new power and destroy whoever is wielding it. The Master of Death appeared at the same time as the new Son of Poseidon, I do not think this is a coincidence. Follow him, if he is the Master kill him, if it is not him he will most likely lead you to them. NOW GO!**"

Cronos' last roaring words sent Neo spinning through the land of dreams but he did not wakeup, instead he was back in Death's library.

Death spoke when Neo spotted her across the room, "So you saw, yes, Cronos is the soul possessing Luke. To save your brother you will have to face the King of the Titans. However for now Cronos cannot be destroyed only stopped, but I have faith that you will be able to save your brother."

"What did Cronos mean when he said that the chains of Tartarus were getting stronger, and it was my fault?"

Death snickered lightly, "I wouldn't use the word "fault", but part of the reason the chains keeping him in Tartarus are strengthening is because you accepted my offer. I asked you to take up the responsibility of being the Master of Death and when you did you started changes in this world that are for the better. One of those changes gives me the ability to reach my influence beyond this realm of Ultimate Death and take action in other Death realms, which also affects the associated living realms. With your help we can uphold the Balance and Justice. You have the power to cause changes in the universe that I otherwise am unable to."

"So I'm just a tool for you to use?" Neo asked hurt at the thought.

"Of course not! Your will is your own, and I will never take that away from you." She stood and walked toward Neo, when she reached him she took his hand, "I did not give you this power so that I could manipulate you into changing this world's fate. I gave you the power because it was your destiny, you are the only one worthy of it, and I accepted what would come of it. In all of the Realms in all of the Universes throughout what was, is, and will be, you are the only one who I chose, because you are the only one that will use my power wisely and for the betterment of this Universe. You can stop the tragic end that this Universe was doomed to, and you can save countless lives from ending before their time while doing it. As Master of Death you will be able to stop the balance from being corrupted, it is a great responsibility. I ask nothing from you in return but to act wisely, and I will not ask you to do anything you do not want to. If you wish not to change this world's fate I accept that. If you wish for me to destroy this world because you think it will serve a purpose to protect the cosmic balance, I only ask that it is done because there is no other option. You are the Master of Death, my Voice, anything you say is made Law through my power, and I swear I will never abandon you because I trust you."

As she spoke Neo saw the emotions swimming in her eyes sincerity, pride, caring and conviction. It all mixed together and threatened to consume all, and Neo could feel it inside his own heart as if they were one in that moment. The emotions overwhelmed them and they embraced each other anchoring one another in their raging sea of emotions.

When it was over Neo gasped in air as if he had not breathed in ages, "What was that?"

Death removed her face from his neck but refused to let him go. "You could call it resonance or transference, maybe. It is part of the bond we share, our connection. It will develop in its own time, like a soul bond. Some people would say we are soul mates but it is different than that, and so much more. It will be like we are one, but we will still be different, Yin and Yang. You have shared my feelings before, when Loki and Hela requested your help, and you were able to hear me when I was not there. In time you will be able to feel my presence and know where I am the same way I know where you are, and communicate with me from anywhere, anytime." Death paused for a second.

"Always Together and Apart, Forever Death and Her Master," she quoted.

"What is that from?"

Death moved back letting go of Neo as she went to look him in the eye with a smile. "Something Fate told me." Death's smile slowly blurred out and Neo could feel himself waking-up. "Remember that if you travel to Hades I would like to come with you, I have a bone to pick with that particular Lord of the Underworld," were her final words before Neo was pulled back to consciousness.

***Break***

The next three days Loki trained Neo in Æsir magic. While he trained Neo was able to get to know his family more. Fenrir was the most confusing out of them all. He alternated between acting like an adult and acting like a three year old. He would say something so wise you would think he learned it from an ancient sage, but the next minute he would be begging for ice cream or beef jerky.

Jromungandr was like an older brother, and he knew magic from around the world not just Æsir magic. He could speak every language without relying on the Æsir magic of Allspeak, which allowed Loki and other Asgardians to speak with other people from different realms. Jormungandr was stronger than Neo so he took it upon himself to train Neo in strength and hand to hand. (Word to the wise, if you think that it would be a fair fight between you and a god with the constrictive strength of a humongous snake, you would be wrong.)

With his Father and Brother helping train Neo, Fenrir decided to join in too and worked with Neo on his running speed. It was actually worse than running with the Naiads, Fenrir was possible _THE FASTEST_ thing on the ground. And that is how Neo spent the next few days, practicing magic spells again and again until Loki deemed him worthy of moving on, then going to battle against a giant snake in disguise that left him black and blue (and he was pretty sure brain damage was included), and finally he would run with a wolf until he couldn't feel his legs anymore.

Neo may have been lamenting his pains but the three gods were silently marveling at his rate of growth and stamina. Every consecutive day they would have to double the training and he continued to impress them by not stopping until they said he was done. On the third day he was doing four times the amount of training he started at, and each of them wondered how long it would take for him to reach his potential.

On the fourth day at 8:00 am Argyros fly into the bathroom through the door as Neo was stepping out of the shower. He took the letter that Argyros was delivering after recovering from his near death experience of almost slipping and bashing his head open due to surprise. The letter was from Hermes telling him that Percy Jackson was trapped in the Lotus Casino with the Lotus Eaters, who apparently kidnap people by making them eat Lotus flowers that give them the biggest trip _FOREVER_, and he needed to help rescue him. With the solstice deadline set for midnight the next day Percy had less than 40 hours to get the Master Bolt to Olympus.

He got ready as fast as he could while giving the news to the others. Everyone was ready in an hour after checking out of the hotel and finding something to eat for breakfast.

The Lotus Casino was located in Las Vegas, Nevada and thankfully Hermes provided pictures of the alley just around the corner, and photos of what Percy and his companions looked like. Neo made one last check, he had his locket with all of his belongings, the Death Ring, his jacket and in it was his phone and lighter from Remus, he never took Marvápn off so it was still around his wrists and he double laced his boots. The other three men grabbed a hold of his arms tightly as he apparated them to Las Vegas.

When they arrived silently Neo almost saw something too good to be true. Right in front of them at the end of the alley was Travis, Son of Ares, obviously scoping out the Casino and following Percy like he was told. Travis was so distracted by watching the Casino he hadn't realized he was no longer alone.

Neo signaled to the others to stay quiet then crept on silent feet toward the Demigod before raising a hand and channeling magic to create an electrical charge that was powerful enough to knock out Travis when he touched him on the shoulder. He was satisfied as the zapping sound reached his ears sending Travis into a shaking fit before he landed unconscious on the ground.

'It shouldn't be that easy to take out the bad guy, but I guess everyone gets lucky sometimes,' Neo thought as he waved a hand over the other camper and ropes wrapped around the downed teen.

"I'll deal with you later," he said casting a spell to put Travis into a suspended state and sending him into a pocket dimension.

He turned to face the entrance of the Casino, "Okay so here's the plan; Get in, find Percy, Annabeth and the Satyr and get them out."

"…and don't eat the flowers," Jo replied.

"Right, and don't eat the flowers," he reiterated. 'Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,' he thought as they made their way into the Casino.

__Author note: Thank you for reading this chapter, and please review.__

__Question to Reviewers: Should Neo(Harry) and Percy be together in my second story, or will their personalities clash too much for them to have a happy relationship?__


	8. Chapter 7

_Author note: This is the longest chapter yet and the LAST chapter, Yay! But don't worry this is only the first story in a series that has been slowly coming to life in my head. I originally started this story based off of a challenge but the sequels to this story will no longer have to do with that challenge._

**_Important!-__ I have a final comment at the end of the chapter. It's only there because I didn't want to spoil anything. Please read!_**

_This is rated M for violence and will contain birthday suit wearing males, again ;)_

"Blah." = normal speech

'Blah.' = thoughts

"_Blah_." = beast speech

"_Blah._" = Death's mental voice

***This*** = scene change (which I never mentioned before, sorry)

**The Son of Two**

**Chapter 7**

As soon as Neo and his family walked through the entrance doors they were accosted by the Casino staff. One very persistent bellhop would have been knocked unconscious when he grabbed Neo by the arm if it wasn't for Loki stopping his fist inches from the man's face.

Loki, who was the only one who looked old enough to be responsible for the group accepted the complementary credit cards and was able to fend off the Lotus flower bearers by saying that they had just eaten.

They hadn't even made it five steps past the first group before they were set upon by more women carrying around trays with the Casino's "signature dish". Jormungandr, who seemingly decided to sacrifice himself, started to distract the women asking about ingredients and telling them lies about having terrible plant allergies. When the women looked into his smoldering gaze they were captivated, his power worked its charm by putting the women into a trance-like state letting the others slip away.

"How did he do that?" Neo whispered to his uncle.

"Snake charm," Loki replied leaving out any explanation. Of course he didn't need to in Neo's case; the young warrior knew how charming "snakes" could be, and how venomous.

"Alright…Dolf I don't know how many Satyrs are here but do you think you could sniff out the one that came with Percy and Annabeth? Dad's message said his name is Grover. Once you find him meet us back here."

"Sure I can find him. Can I borrow his picture so I nab the right one?" he responded cheerfully to Neo, as if they were playing hide-and-seek.

"Here," he handed the picture over, and Fenrir snuck unnoticed into the crowd like a hunting wolf cloaked in shadows.

Neo looked up to Loki who spoke before Neo was able, "And I shall find the Daughter of Athena, I believe I will have the best chance at persuading her to join us, after all she is her mother's daughter." Loki said with a grin as he slipped the photo of Annabeth from Neo's hand and walked away with the untouchable presence of a King making sure he remained unhindered.

Neo headed toward the waterslides and indoor ski slope thinking they would be two of the most-likely places to find a Son of Poseidon, but he hadn't made it passed the arcade when someone bumped into him. Luckily it turned out to be Percy, who actually looked a little worried.

"Percy?" he questioned in concern.

Looking up Percy's face revealed a mix expression of relief and horror, "Neo! What are you doing here? This is a trap," he said while looking around. He reached for Neo's hand then started to walk again, "Come on, I have to find Annabeth and Grover so we can get out of here."

Neo used Percy's grip on his hand to spin the demigod around and grabbed him by the shoulder with his other hand forcing Percy to look at him. "I know it's a trap Percy that's why I'm here, to get you and your friends out. But I need you to listen to me for a second. The others that I came with, went to find Annabeth and Grover, we should head back to the entrance and meet them there, alright?"

"Yeah, okay, but what if they're not there?" he asked.

The look on Percy's face changed back to worry, so Neo turned them toward the front door and started walking before he replied. Hopefully the forward progress would keep the younger boy from having the panic attack that he looked seconds away from.

"Then we wait, I'm sure they will be there soon. There's no need to worry, Percy," Neo reassured in a calm voice, unconsciously tightening his grip on the others hand, "It's going to be fine."

With the pressure on his hand Percy finally seemed to realize what he had done and looked down at their hands as he let Neo guide him, 'Why did I grab his hand?'

They were almost back at the door and could see the others standing there. Neo took the time to observe the group. Loki and Annabeth seemed to be having a talk that was slowly becoming more passionate on the girls part. Neo chuckled at the look on the poor Satyr's face. Grover looked like a frightened animal as he stood in between Jormungandr and Fenrir while the younger brother just looked at the half-goat with a toothy smile and gleaming eyes.

Neo felt Percy stop and when he looked back at the boy he saw why. The same persistent bellhop from before had grabbed Percy's arm this time was trying to question where they were going.

Without actually thinking about it Neo had balled up his fist and this time there was no one to stop him from cold-cocking the bellhop. Percy glanced at the unconscious man on the floor, who was bleeding profusely from a broken nose, then back up at Neo.

The older boy just shrugged his shoulders, "I just really didn't like him," he replied to the unasked question then turned back and kept walking.

Neo's little outburst wasn't unnoticed, when they reached their group they were instantly surrounded by the Casino security.

Stepping forward Neo changed Marvápn into a sword and took a combative stance, "You really don't want to get in my way."

Neo's argument must have been very convincing; the security guards stepped aside and allowed the group to pass. One guard tried to stop him though and Neo was curious why he would stand up to a man with a sword.

"I can't let you leave, sir. I have orders to keep Mr. Jackson here until the end of the Solstice," the rotund guard replied.

"Let me guess, Ares' orders right? That message didn't happen to come from a Son of Ares did it, a Travis, maybe? But if he wanted Percy to stay here…then why was Travis waiting outside?" Neo paused to think, "He was waiting for you to give him something, wasn't he? What was it?" Neo questioned as he pushed his sword under the man's chin. The man wasn't looking as brave as before and his frightened eyes shifted to Percy, more specifically the backpack hanging from his shoulder. Neo wondered when Percy had gotten it because he was sure that the boy didn't have it when they first bumped into each other.

"What was it?" Neo questioned the man again, applying more pressure to his blade.

"A shield, he didn't tell me why he just wanted the shield that Mr. Jackson had," the man answered finally.

"See that wasn't so hard, right? Now I suggest you move." He said in mock pleasantness while he pushed the guard away with his sword, once out of the blades range the guard scurried away.

"Dude, what the heck was that?" Percy questioned Neo who had started leading everyone outside. Grover and Annabeth silently stepped into place behind Percy while the gods took up the rear of the group.

"I don't like that place, something was wrong, it was…out of balance," he said quietly only loud enough for their group to hear.

"Okay but why did that guy want a shield I don't have?"

"You do have a shield Percy, look." Neo said as he took the bag then reached into it and used his senses to find the source of power inside. He pulled out a familiar shield and showed it to the demigod.

"Woah! What's that doing in there, I thought Ares took it back?" Percy exclaimed as he stopped in shock making Neo and everyone behind them stop also.

"He probably put it in the bag so he could blame you for stealing it and the Master Bolt." Neo explained.

"Wait the Master Bolt's in there too," he asked as he stared into the bag.

"No," Neo said as he turned the shield over and slid open the hidden compartment behind the arm strap, "it's in here."

Percy and his group where too stunned to say anything so Neo just turned and started walking again. Everyone once again resumed the short walk to the exit.

All of them paused when they were out; no one seemed sure where to go. Loki walked ahead of them taking the keys out of an attendant's hand completely unnoticed. He hit the unlock button and watched as the lights on a black Maserati flashed.

"Oh-ho, sweet," Grover exclaimed when he saw the car.

"There's no way we're all fitting in that," Annabeth commented.

"That's not what I'm worried about," Neo voiced as he turned to Loki. "Since when do you know how to drive a car?"

Loki gave them all a smug look, "I know plenty, dear nephew. This is not my first time behind the wheel of a vehicle."

"Oh yeah, when was the last time you drove a car? The mid-18th century or the 19th century?" Neo asked conversationally.

Loki's smirk disappeared, "You're so funny I forgot to laugh."

Fenrir did laugh however ruining the affect of his father's last statement.

Neo grinned in victory and opened the passenger door. Annabeth was right the car may have had a back seat but with the size of his cousins and himself he wasn't sure even one of them would fit. Silently casting a charm to increase the space Neo stood back and gestured to the other three campers.

"Children and small animals first," he said in a genteel manner.

"Hey!" The other three replied in indignation.

"Uh-hum," Fenrir cleared his throat drawing the attention of the Satyr and gave Grover a bright toothy smile, "Please get in the car."

A shudder went down Grover's back and he let out a whimpering bleat when he saw the wolf's smile, then he practically dove into the back seat to get away from Fenrir. The Satyr's actions only made the wolf god laugh.

Everyone got into the car after that. When he sat in the driver seat, Neo next to him, Loki looked over at his nephew and asked, "Where will we be going this fine morning?"

Neo pulled out his cell phone to quickly look at the digital clock, it was 10:36 a.m. and counting but the worst part was when Neo looked to confirm the date. It was the day after they had entered the Casino making it almost 27 hours after he received the message from Hermes. That left less than 14 hours to get the lightning bolt to Olympus.

"Well we have good news and bad news. The good news is if we get the bolt to Olympus by midnight we can save the world. The bad news is it's going to take too long to get back to New York from here; we're going to be late," he replied.

That's when Percy spoke up from the back between Annabeth and Jormungandr with Grover and Fenrir on opposite sides of the car. "Wait, we still have three days until the solstice."

"No Percy, look," Annabeth said while pointing at a sign across the street that was advertising the time and date. "We were in there for three days, today _IS_ the solstice."

"And _we_ walked in that building at 10 o'clock, yesterday," Neo explained, "But I could swear we weren't in their more than half an hour. We have to get the Master Bolt to Olympus _today_."

"No! I'm not going to Olympus until I've rescued my Mom!" Percy exclaimed. "We have to go to Hades and get her back first."

"Hades is in Hollywood, California and as much as I liked the beach," he spit out sarcastically, "My priority is making sure you get the Bolt to Olympus before the deadline Percy. A war between the gods will destroy this planet and you're the one who can stop it. We're going to Olympus." Neo said.

"She's my mom dude! Come on, you can't be that heartless!" the younger yelled from the back. "I know your Mom is the kind of goddess who can't remember which god is your Father so two of them had to claim you. But that doesn't mean that every Mom is like her. I love my Mom and I'm not leaving her in the Underworld."

After those words the whole car had gone silent. Everyone was holding their breath and those with animal instincts in the group could tell that Percy had just unleashed a storm as the atmosphere in the vehicle grew more and more electrified.

Neo slowly turned to Percy in the back and when his steely gaze met the other boy's, Percy involuntarily gulped back the fear that shot through him.

"Whoever fed you that load of tripe lied to you. I love the one who gave birth to me, Percy Jackson, who for your information wasn't Hecate. But I have come to care for her too and you will never insult her in front of me again. Am I clear?" Neo said in a low threatening voice. "I understand your concern for your Mum, and I'm sorry that she was drawn into this predicament, but the safety of this world is just as important."

Neo still had his eyes locked on Percy when he felt a presence join them and heard Death speak as if whispering in his ear, "_If you go to the Underworld I can aid you in getting to Olympus in time. You can save Sally Jackson _AND_ the Earth without having to compromise, but it is your choice._"

Five tense seconds later Neo turned around and without looking at Loki said, "We are going to the Underworld, and make it as fast as possible, please."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Loki turned the key and started the car. The god of Chaos proved that he was a better driver than Neo expected, as he wasted no time in skillfully pulling out of the parking area and speeding off down the road weaving through traffic toward their destination. The engine was pushed to its limit the whole way there. The car ride was silent for the first hour until Neo finally got fed-up with it and turned on the radio. With nothing to preoccupy them Fenrir and Grover had fallen asleep while everyone else stared out the windows. The only stop that was made was to refuel the Maserati (that's when everyone found out about the unlimited cash on the cards making Grover faint at the prospect of all that money).

They reached Hollywood less than three hours later. As Loki pulled to a stop in front of the Hollywood sign the other passengers started to wake-up. Neo, the first one to awake, found the others were asleep and felt guilty that Loki had obviously driven while everyone else slept.

"Sorry," he mumbled groggily, "You should have woken me up."

"Why," Loki asked genuinely perplexed.

"It's rude to fall asleep and leave the driver without company."

"Nonsense, I was fine and now I have the perfect material for later use," he said raising up his own phone, which was a new one for Neo, and showing pictures that he had taken at several stops.

Neo looked at the pictures and realized what kind of material his Uncle was talking about, it was the kind used for blackmail. There was one of Annabeth and Percy with their faces turned toward each other. One were Annabeth was nuzzling Grover's furry leg. Another one showed Percy who had fallen over on top of the Daughter of Athena and was lying with his head on Annabeth's chest. The one that was the cutest, and would be saved, was a moment when Fenrir had turned himself away from the door and was laying against Jormungandr who was resting his head on top of Fenrir's.

"I need you to send those to me," he said while following Loki in getting out of the car. "How come you didn't take any of me? And where did you get that phone anyway?"

"How else do you think Hermes and I keep in touch?" he said answering Neo's question with his own, "And there is a picture of you." Of course Loki refused to show him that picture no matter how many times he asked.

A few minutes later they were all out of the car and stretching. Loki waited for the others to fully shake off the lethargy of their naps before he took Neo aside to voice something he knew would be a problem.

"Neo, your cousins and I must stay here."

"Why?"

"We would not be welcome in the Underworld." Loki answered.

"Why, is it because this is a demigod quest? But…" he tried to say when Loki stopped him.

"No, that's not it at all. We cannot go because it is forbidden for a god to enter the domain of another without their permission. You are the only one of us who could cross the border without Hades' knowledge."

"But I already had to leave Remus and Sirius behind, I don't want to leave you too," he said trying not to show how much it hurt that his family couldn't come with him again.

"We'll be here when you comeback." Loki said and with a glance over Neo's shoulder he nodded at the person standing there.

"Don't worry, Master, you're not going alone because there's no way I'd miss this." Death said cheerily from behind him.

Neo turned and smiled at her happy face. Percy, Annabeth and Grover where curious about the new woman who had suddenly appeared and started to ask questions but their attention was redirected as she grabbed Neo's hand and started to walk toward the entrance to Hades.

Death with her slightly bubbly and knowledgeable attitude easily convinced the three Camp Half-blood campers that she knew the way without actually explaining how. When they stood in front of the gate all of the godly offspring saw the ancient warning and once Percy read it out loud the gate opened. Annabeth went first, then Death, and Grover followed the beautiful, well endowed, white haired woman in.

Percy stopped and turned to Neo, "Hey man, I'm sorry for what I said. I shouldn't have listened to the gossip at camp, and I really shouldn't have called you a jerk. You've protected me and had my back while we were at camp and you never asked for anything from me, you even came to rescue me. It-I…" he stuttered until Neo interrupted.

"Look I understand, she's your Mum, I probably would have done the same. And you shouldn't apologize, I can be a major arse sometimes, actually I should be the one saying I'm sorry. So let's just forget about it, yeah?" he winked at Percy with a smirk.

"Yeah," the younger replied with a smile. Then he turned and walked through the gate.

Before Neo picked-up his foot to walk again he heard the flapping of wings and felt a weight on his shoulder. There in all of his silver feathered glory was Argyros, with his head held high and eyes focused on the path in front.

"So you're coming too, mate?"

"_Of course_," the falcon replied, "_I promised, and who else will protect you? That cow who likes to pretend she is better than an herbivore because the gods decided to play an awful trick and give her wings? I think not_," then Argyros flew into the gate and up higher to keep an eye on the Son of Hermes from above.

"And here I was thinking you two were starting to get along, silly me." Neo just chuckled and walked quickly to catch up to his companions.

The Underworld was a dreary place. The souls that loitered, in front of what seemed to be ticket lines, were dressed in gray clothes that matched the gray color of their see through bodies. Percy led the group toward the lines and as he passed the souls of the dead Percy noticed how they appeared to not see the mortals. But it looked like his assumption was wrong. The souls seemed to part and bow before the mysterious woman who showed them the gate and it wasn't just her, they were doing the same for Neo.

Death silently acknowledged the respect by giving a small bow of her head in return. She could feel Neo's unease and leaned in to whisper to him.

"It is fine; you're the Master of Death, every soul will acknowledge you whether they know why or not. You are as important as I am in the realm of Death, so it is natural that my Emissary be respected. This also allows you some control over the dead. You can command them and just as they cannot lie to me; any soul, even a living one, cannot lie to you."

"I don't think that one works. I was almost eaten by the Kraken when some worshiper of Hades decided to trick me onto his boat, and I'm pretty sure he lied at the time," Neo said.

Death just smiled and said, "His words may have lied to you, but his soul wasn't and there is a way to tell the truth. Our bond gives you an ability called the Soul Gaze; think if it as a necromancer's version of your Mage Sight. The Soul Gaze is a gift to you, Master, the ability to see past the flesh, hear past the spoken word, and feel beyond what lays in front of you. It has not presented itself because you haven't reached your potential, it will take time for that. But when you master it you will be able to see into a man's soul and know everything about him, from his true name to the day he will die. When you question someone the words they speak may be false, but their soul will cry out in answer to you and it will speak the truth. The Soul Gaze will also allow you to see the souls that dwell on the mortal plane."

"That sounds dangerous," he answered warily. "What would happen if I couldn't turn it off?"

"Practice makes perfect, and you're a fast learner. I have no doubt that you would master the ability, but I do recommend only using it in a time of emergency or when you _must_ know the truth. The truth that a person's soul reveals about themselves can be…overwhelming. After all, some people must tell lies in order to save others from the truth."

"So you'll teach it to me?" he pondered aloud.

"Yes, it will be my pleasure," her smile seemed to brighten the dim atmosphere of the Underworld.

"Thanks," he couldn't help but return the smile.

Up ahead as Death and Neo where talking, the other three noticed the danger they were walking into. As the lines in front seemed to converge ahead, the souls passed under the legs of a giant three headed dog.

Cerberus the guard of the Underworld was not pleased, he could smell them. Mortals had come into the Land of the Dead and they should not be there. He growled threateningly as he watched them approach.

The rumbling growl vibrated through the ground under their feet, frightening Percy, Annabeth and Grover. Neo and Death had taken notice of Cerberus.

"Well it's only got three heads, I say we have a good two out of five chance of getting by," Neo joked.

Death giggled while the other three paled in horror at his morbid sense of humor.

"Come on man, seriously?" Grover whined.

"Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood. But honestly, when you were coming up with this little plan to go to the Underworld, did it never occurred to you to find a way to get past the giant three-headed dog that everyone knows guards the gate?" the others stayed silent, "No? I see, well in that case I'm open to suggestions."

"Your sarcasm really isn't helping!" Annabeth hissed at him in annoyance. She was trying to think of something to do. Annabeth pulled out her bag, and like every woman's bag this one possessed the mysterious non-magical quality of somehow containing many odd things that will always come in handy (women carry McGyver's tool kit). After a quick search she found what she was looking for.

Pulling out a red rubber ball she exclaimed in triumph. "Ah-hah, we can use this!"

"It's crazy enough to work." Neo agreed.

After a strange game of fetch, the group was able to get passed Cerberus but as they left Neo heard Death speak to him.

"Good boy, now you stay here and guard the door while I go have a talk with your Master about leaving you here with no one to play with. I'll straighten him out." She waved at the large dog that happily waged his tail sending the souls that got hit flying.

Percy was happy to see that his mother wasn't among the souls of the dead but he was worried about where she was.

Suddenly Grover let out a yelp as he fell to the ground but it hadn't been an accident of him tripping. The shoes on Grover's feet where trying to fly on their own. They flapped as hard as they could, struggling to carry the Satyr toward a large pit dragging the helpless creature through the dirt. He tried to stop himself but Grover couldn't find anything to grab onto. He started to yell causing him to have to spit out gritty dirt, and frightened tears slipped down his checks as he tried to untie the shoes. Percy, Annabeth and Neo where running after him.

Grover was able to get one of the shoes off and it tumbled recklessly through the air without his weight. The moment he slowed down Percy and Annabeth grabbed him and held him there stopping the other shoe from pulling him farther.

Out of the corner of his eye, Neo saw the loose shoe come flying at them almost as fast as a Snitch. He easily grabbed it out of the air due to his previous training at catching those little winged golden balls.

Luckily the other three were able to get the last shoe off and when it was the shoe targeted Neo and dived toward him. Argyros was faster, like a bullet he shot down and grabbed the shoe out of the air with his talons.

Landing a few feet away he began to tear the offending footwear into pieces with his beak and claws which apparently were as sharp as razors, even though they had never once hurt Neo. The others could only watch the bizarre sight.

Neo's grip on the other shoe had loosened enough that it was able to fly out of his grip and make a valiant effort to save its match. Argyros was ready for the attack and took off toward the shoe, catching it and doing the same to it as he did the other, and like that the small strange fight was over.

"_Those infernal pieces of bird droppings. They are another creation of the one who created me, I know because I have seen them before. That pair was obviously rabid; it is a good thing that there are more where those came from, so they will not be missed._" The falcon decided to add one more comment as he landed on Neo's shoulder and started to preen his hair, "_And your skills at catching prey are almost as good as a my own, you would have made a good falcon,_" he complimented and ended with a small nod of his head. Then Argyros took off into the air above again and started to circle them keeping an eye on his partner.

It only took a few seconds due to the silence around them to notice a strange voice coming from the pit. Shadows seemed to be growing from it and one was reaching toward Percy.

"Now," Death said to Neo, "He is coming, if you are able to weaken Him, I can break the connection to your brother and sever the control Cronus has over Luke."

Neo wondered what he was supposed to do, but as he watched the shadow come closer to the half-blood Son of Poseidon he acted. Pulling Percy back and behind him he raised his right arm above his head as Marvápn transformed into a sword. With a turn of his wrist the sword was pointing down and he drove it right into the shadow. Unexpectedly they could all hear a shout of pain come from the pit and the shadow seemed to writhe around the blade.

That's when Neo understood Cronus may not be able to take his normal form but he could still influence people using this underhanded trick. The anger that surged through him at the idea that this monster inky black hooks had invade his brothers mind made Neo want to cause the Titan pain. The wish caused his magic to send a bolt of lightning down the sword and into the shadow. Another yell of pain sounded. Neo felt a righteous fury as he thought of all of the things Cronus would have accomplished with a war between the gods. The Earth would have been destroyed and millions of people and animals would have died; whether they were immortal, mortal, magical, alien or otherwise. Luke would have been used and possibly killed, or worse Cronus may have used him as a vessel like Voldemort had used Quirrel. At every thought of the horror that Cronus could do Neo's magic increased the power of the lightning being channeled until the pained screams of the Titan could have been heard on Olympus.

As Neo was weakening Cronus, Death unraveled the connection between the souls of Cronus and Luke, though she appeared to be standing still with her eyes closed. Her work was finally complete and now Luke was free.

***Camp Half-Blood-Same Time***

Luke had been taking a break from his sword work and was sitting under the shade of a tree. Then out of nowhere he felt a strange tugging sensation in his chest and became worried but it was soon gone. A suddenly wave of incredible relief washed over him. The feeling caused him to close his eyes in bliss and he instantly fell into a deep sleep. The other campers seeing that Luke was taking a nap decided to leave him alone. It was obviously strange behavior but if Chiron, who was at the training grounds, decided to let it go the other campers would too. Luke would wake up a few hours later feeling better than ever.

***Underworld-No Time Has Passed***

When she was done Death gently wrapped her arms around Neo's shoulders and whispered in his ear, "It's done, Luke is safe. Please stop, Cronus cannot be destroyed now. The only way to slay him is with the cursed blade and you do not have it. I know that he has done and will do terrible things, but right now is not the time. Please Neo, stop."

Her words reached him even when everything else he could hear around him, including the titans screams, sounded like he was hearing them through water. Neo reined in control of his magic and stopped his electric attack. The shadow seemed to still in exhaustion and when Neo pulled the blade out, the shadow quickly retreated into the abyss of the pit.

"What just happened?" Annabeth asked.

"It was trying to grab Percy so I stopped it," he explained simply.

Percy though was thinking about something else, "I've heard that voice before, it was in a dream."

Annabeth and Grover new the significance of a demigods dream but, looking at each other, both silently agreed not to worry Percy about it now. Neo knew about the fact that demigods had visions not dreams thanks to his new Mother, Hecate, and he realized that Percy must have had a vision like the one he had.

"Come on, Perce, we have to get to Hades and get your Mom back fast," Grover reminded.

The group walked across the Land of the Dead and up to what was obviously Hades abode. The guards at the door all bowed to Death and Neo as they opened the doors for them. Hellhounds came out to growl at the mortals, but when they saw Death they rolled over and showed their bellies before getting back up and nudging her hand begging for attention. Neo saw a familiar wolf-shaped hellhound and when the tank sized wolf saw him it started to yip in excitement and happily trotted forward.

"_Alpha, Zoul is so happy to see you! Zoul missed you Alpha,_" the hellhound said in his childlike voice.

Neo laughed and rubbed the wolf's neck, "It's good to see you too, buddy."

Of course that's when Argyros flew in and landed on Neo's shoulder staring down the hellhound in a show of superiority.

"_I am his partner, if you have a problem with that we can settle it now,_" Argyros threatened brandishing his claws like razor sharp knives.

"_This is Beta?_" Zoul question with a look to Neo.

Neo thought about it, and agreed that beta would be the simplest term, "Yes."

"_Hello Beta! Zoul is happy to meet you,_" the hellhound said as his tongue rolled out of his mouth and licked the bird.

The falcon hissed in annoyance, "_Puppy breath,_" he lamented.

When they reached the doors to Hades throne room the guards opened it with as much haste as a decayed corpse can muster. The doors opened into an extravagant looking room and Neo remembered that Hades may be the god of the dead but he was also the god of Wealth because all riches came from underground.

Percy took the lead asking Hades for his mother back. When the god refused believing like the other gods that Percy had not stolen the Lightning Bolt and also accusing him of stealing the Helm of Darkness, Neo had had enough.

"Look, I can promise you that Percy had nothing to do with stealing your Helm. In fact, I can tell you for certain that it was another god who has it," Neo explained, but Hades didn't believe him.

"You dare accuse a god of stealing from me, I am Hades and all of the gods know my power none would be so foolish. No, only a mortal could have done it, because the gods are forbidden from stealing each other's symbols of power. It must have been you then. Are you not the bastard Son of Hecate, who has sullied herself by associating with another Pantheon? I offer you a chance to return the Helm to me and force your friend to give me the Bolt or I will kill you." Hades' wanted to make the young demigod cower but his words had another affect.

Neo moved unexpectedly, dislodging Argyros who flew over and landed on a candle holder nearby, he quickly closed the distance to Hades and socked him in the face. The god of death was shocked as pain ran through his face and he was tossed over the arm of his throne and to the floor. "No one speaks about my Mum like that!" He said stepping forward to hit the god with a left hook as he stood up, "Especially not some idiotic, egotistical, self-serving, chauvinist like you!"

Hades once again tried to stand up and was successful. He just stared at the one in front of him in shock.

"This can't be! No mortal, demigod or otherwise, could have the power to harm a god. What trick is this?" he questioned is surprise.

Neo wondered exactly what Hades meant by that. Thankfully, Death was happy to point it out to her Master.

"Remember what I have said, Master. You were born from the blood of two gods, and now you are starting to reach your potential. You are very close to unlocking the final key, now is the time to receive your inheritance," she spoke quietly from his side.

Neo realized something so simple, but he had obviously been avoiding this revelation. Maybe it was to help him adjust to the changes but it was still surprising when he finally accepted it. All this time the other gods had been trying to ease him into understanding it, even Loki, but he hadn't wanted to accept it at the time; he wasn't mortal, he was a god.

That was when it happened, like a dam breaking the power inside of Neo was finally unlocked, it wasn't his full potential but it was his true inheritance. Now that he accepted the truth he finally received the power he would have gotten when he came of age. His magic rejoiced and his body felt euphoric, he may need some more training but he was a god, now and forever.

The force of the unlocked power pushed Hades back and the others in the room were knocked over except for Death, who stood beside him easing the growing connection between them with her power. Neo could feel it like a deep chasm opening up under him and swallowing him whole, but Death was succeeding in making sure it was not overwhelming. He could sense her like a part of himself and he felt her power cradling him in a warm embrace as the energy flowing through their connection began to settle.

When he came back to his present and his mind settled again while his nerves were still slightly raw from his expanded power, he saw everyone lying on the ground and Death standing next to him.

Neo looked over to Hades, and holding his head high he claimed with narrowed eyes, "It is no trick. I am Neo Evan Thorson the immortal Son of Thor Odinson, Son of Lord Hermes, and the adopted Son of Lady Hecate, and I am the Master of Death."

The great presence that came with speaking his true titles was as powerful as any of the Olympian gods. For the first time the demigods in the room understood what it means to voice the names and titles of the gods and why you do not invoke them lightly. Goosbumps has involuntarily formed on Percy and Annabeth's arms, and poor Grover's hair was standing on end. The atmosphere was electrified and thick.

Hades grew angry at the disregard for his power and in his own domain! (But he can't help it, he's an egotistical chauvinist, remember?)

"You would challenge my here of all places, you may be a godling but I have the power to kill you were you stand!" Wanting to show this new godling what it really meant to be King of the Underworld, Hades summoned his power and threw a mass of deadly energy at Neo.

Neo summoned Marvápn's shield form and ducked behind it. At the same time, Argyros raised his wings to fly and intercept the energy blast, but he was beaten to it by another. A figure moved in front of Neo taking the shot for him.

When Neo lowered his shield to see what had happened, and who had saved him. On the floor of the throne room at his feet was the still form of the young hellhound, Zoul.

'Why?' he thought, the question weighing heavily on him. He knelt on the ground checking what damage had been done to the hellhound he had once saved, and had now returned the favor. Right in the middle of its side was a large blackened hole. The energy had exploded the hellhound's ribs and the internal organs were exposed. It was a gruesome sight, and Neo wondered why the creature hadn't just disintegrated into dust like the others.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked aloud.

The ground started to vibrate as Death answered, "The attack was meant to kill the soul," her words where whispered out through thin lips and her power seemed to be slowly growing stronger as her hair moved in the same unfelt wind as the last time she was angry. "It is an attack that can harm an immortal by damaging the soul and not just the body, because hellhounds are spirit creatures with a spirit form, it did this. The gods of Death, my appointed representatives in the different pantheons, are the only ones who possess such power, and are forbidden from using it unless _I_ decree it necessary."

Death's power had reached a pinnacle and the air was now moving with it. The force that had once pushed Neo into a chair was back.

"He may be immune, but you would dare use such power against _MY_ Master, Hades!?" she screamed as a shimmering whip of golden energy lashed out at him and sent him into the wall.

She composed herself long enough to say, "Neo, take the others outside, Hades and I are about to have a long overdue conversation."

Percy, Annabeth and Grover didn't need to be told twice and left the room before Neo. He didn't really know why he did it but Neo took the time to gather-up the large body of the wolf-hound and carried it outside in his arms. The doors closed quickly but quietly behind them.

As the stood silently out in the hall everyone was able to hear the noises coming from the other room. They could hear that Death was using ancient Greek mixed with some of the Ancient tongue when her voice was loud enough to hear. Every once and awhile the words would be interrupted by a shout of pain, or the sound of something either being thrown or shattering. It lasted for almost half an hour, Neo was starting to pick out words like, probation, changes, and castration.

Finally it had gone silent and soon after the doors opened on their own, Death and Hades were on the other side. Hades had definitely seen better days but at least Death had been kind enough to stop while he could still stand on his own.

"I'm finished here, but Hades has something to say," Death said as she looked at Hades with a face that told him to "play nice, _or else_".

He spoke to Percy first, "Please excuse my actions…I know now that you where telling the truth and I would like to apologize for not believing you…" Death cleared her throat and Hades went on glancing at Neo, "and for trying to kill you."

Quiet followed Hades words, Neo seemed to be the only one willing to break the silence, "Well it's not like you're the first," he chuckled, "I accept your apology, and I am sorry that you thought I was trying to challenge you."

Death sent a pleased look to Neo and then glared at Hades, "What does that say, when he acts like a bigger man than you?"

Hades actually lowered his head like a chastised child, "I'm sorry for the way I have been acting, thank you for giving me another chance, Lady Death."

"I forgive you," she said as her gaze softened, "and I'm going to help you fix things down here before I leave."

"Uhm," Percy said quietly wondering if he could interrupt without getting killed. "Apology accepted, I'd be mad if someone stole from me too. So how about a trade? If I can get the Helm back from Ares, will you give me my mother back, uh please?" he asked.

"That will not be necessary," someone said from the other end of the hall making everyone's heads turn to the new arrival, or arrivals in this case.

At the other end of the hall was the figure of two women, one Neo was familiar with, and a very familiar furry trainer. Hecate and Magnum approached, with a very beautiful tanned woman whose lush golden brown locks fell in ringlets down her back treaded through with beautiful flowers. The new woman's bark-like textured dress was fit like a ball gown, while Hecate seemed to be wearing a purple Grecian gown that was at a more modest height, the neckline resting across her collarbone, than the robe she wore before.

Hecate smile at Neo when she reached him and her hands clenched at her sides. Neo notice her hesitation, Remus would do the same thing when his mother hen instincts were acting up but he didn't want to seem nagging by hugging him. Neo just smiled back and hugged her. Hecate wrapped her arms around him resting her forehead against his shoulder, letting the warmth coming off his larger frame reassure her that her Chosen Child was safe.

"What did you mean, my dear?" Hades asked his wife about what she said when she arrived.

"Hecate was explaining it on the way here," she explained, "After she picked-up her son from the park, Magnum told her something interesting."

Hecate continued where Persephone left off, "When Magnum was sniffing out the Lightning Bolt, he noticed a familiar sent," when she paused the magic trainer continued.

"It smelled like death, which is a very familiar sent when you spend part of the year around this place. But it was even more familiar because it smelled like Hades," Magnum added.

"When he said that I grew curious, so I asked Magnum to follow the scent which was the mission I had sent him on before you woke up. Magnum found Ares talking to these three," Hecate said.

"And when they left the scent went with them. So I figured it had to be in the bag that Ares gave to Poseidon's kid," Magnum took his turn to speak.

"This means you have already brought the Helm of Darkness. You simply have to return it now," Persephone finished.

"You would willingly let the Helm be returned to me? I admit that recently I have been under the impression that you would have preferred that I not have it." Hades said to his wife.

"You're right, a short time ago I would not have help, but I heard what you said to them," she titled her head in the young groups direction. "If you can go back to being the man that I fell in love with, then I can love you. Things will have to change, my love. You have become a man I have grown to loath and I know that my own actions have not helped. Can you forgive me for the things I have done against you?" her words were full of emotion and when she finished she reached out for him and Hades willingly accepted the embrace tilting his head down to kiss her deeply.

"Oh, my glorious flower, of course I forgive you, I was never mad at you in the first place." His hands come up to cup her beautiful face, and when their glistening eyes met they smiled lovingly at each other. The gloom that had been cast over Hades for so long finally lifted as the most beautiful creature he has ever loved smiled back at him.

As everyone gave the couple a moment of privacy, Percy took the opportunity to take off the bag he had gotten from Ares and searched for anything that could be a helm in disguise. He saw a black fedora that he hadn't seen before and brought it out.

Hades felt the power of his Helm and looked around as he hugged his wife once more. Spotting the fedora he loosened his grip slightly and Persephone accepted the silent request. When they stepped apart, Hades held out his hand and the hat went flying from Percy's hand and into his grasp. He turned the hat once and it changed into a helm, one more turn and it was back to looking like a hat that he placed on top of his black curly locks.

"Thank you nephew, I will say again that I was wrong and I'm sorry. I will return your mother to her home after you have left. I owe you a debt, Perceus Jackson, and I always repay my debts." Hades said as he nodded at the demigod. "You should go before it is too late, and return the Master Bolt to Zeus."

Everyone, even Grover who was finding it hard to take his sight off of the two beautiful goddesses, said their goodbyes and started to walk back to the entrance of Hades palace. Neo noticed that Hecate wasn't joining them. When he was turning to Hecate, Death took his arm and gestured for Neo to hand her the hellhound's body. He nodded and gave Zoul's body to Death and walked back to Hecate.

"You're staying?" he asked, vaguely remembering something she said about staying with Persephone.

"Yes, I stay here during this time of the year, but here take this," she said handing him what he realized was a two way mirror, "It may be more old fashioned than a cell phone but you can contact me anytime. Goodbye." She gave him one last hug and he left.

When they crossed the threshold they were instantly back at the Hollywood sign, where Loki Jormungandr and Fenrir where waiting for them.

"It's almost midnight, Neo," Death said. The young god checked his phone and noticed she was right, they had five minutes to get the Bolt to Zeus. The group felt a change and they were somewhere else again.

Percy looked around and noticing some of the scenery asked, "Is this the Empire State building?"

"Yes," Annabeth answered, "and the entrance to Olympus."

"What?"

"This way," Death said walking to a door leading inside. She shifted the weight she was carrying, and waved her hand opening the door which let out a golden light. "Go on, I will be waiting with Loki and the others," she told them as she waved them through the door.

The "others" meant Jormungandr, Fenrir and Grover, only the two demigods and young god were allowed to cross the barrier into Olympus.

Once they saw the pathway winding along the golden clouds that lead to the throne room, the group ran with Annabeth at the front and the other two right on her heels.

When they finally saw the titanic doors Percy realized that they were closed, and as they came to a stop in front of them he asked, "What now?"

Annabeth almost seemed panicked when she caught enough breath to answer, "I don't know, if the doors are closed it means the gods won't see anyone, and there's no one to open it for us."

"Move over Annabeth, I've got it," Neo said as he broadened his senses to find out if the gods had sealed it with power. It was a negative on any seal so Neo grabbed the oversized handles and pulled.

Annabeth gasped as the doors gave a creaking noise and slowly started to open. She knew that no one but the gods should be able to open the door, but then she remembered what happened. The boy in front of her wasn't just a demigod anymore he was a new god, which blew her mind because seeing his power was amazing.

Annabeth may have been baffled at the godlings strength, but Percy remembered watching as one of the largest boulders on the climbing wall had come straight down on Neo who had caught it in mid-air. The younger boy was just happy that Neo was using his strength to help them and wasn't on the bad guy's side.

When the doors were opened the three walked into the building, and Annabeth once again took the lead heading for the throne room.

They reached the open door where the gods had gathered at the same second that Zeus said it was too late.

"Well we would have gotten here sooner, but someone closed the door on us," Neo said still working on catching his breath. Almost instantly the attention of the gods was on the three, and Neo could admit that it was intimidating.

"This is not a time for jokes, who are you and what are you doing here? No one is allowed to interrupt a meeting of the gods," the man that spoke was dark skinned with big shoulders and a tall frame. He was dressed like all of the other gods, but Neo saw the bronze colored brace on his leg that he had seen on people with leg injures before.

'Hephaestus, the myths say he is crippled and ugly,' Neo remembered, 'but I wouldn't call him ugly.' The god had thick muscles and a shaved head but that didn't take away from his attractiveness. Hephaestus has a strong chin and rectangular face that were perfectly paired with his straight and regal nose. The dark eyes of Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods, were shadowed by a noble brow and his full lips added a very handsome quality to his face even while pursed in a stern expression.

"For once I agree with Hephaestus, who do you think you are? And if you're here to return the Bolt it's too late Jackson," Ares said from the other side of the room. Neo looked and took the time to ask himself what Aphrodite saw in him. Looking at Ares' buzz cut hair, sun burned skin, fire red eyes, and gorilla looks, Neo knew he would have chosen Hephaestus over Ares any day. But it also could have been the bloodthirsty look in Ares eyes that was directed at the three intruders.

"He is my son Hephaestus, and they may be late but that's no thanks to you, Ares," Hermes said.

The other gods looked at Hermes who was acting uncharacteristically hostile toward the god of War.

"What do you mean?" asked Athena.

"Your son, is Hecate not his mother?" Hera questioned Hermes.

"Lady Hera, this is my son, and he is a young god. He is of my blood and the blood of Thor Odinson a god of Asgard. Lady Hecate decided to make him one of her Chosen Children," Hermes said proudly.

Hera smiled before her look turned perturbed when her husband interrupted what she was going to say, "He is no god of Olympus, and this is wasting time."

"If you will listen, Zeus, I can explain what I have found," Hermes said to his father.

Zeus nodded and agreed, "Fine if it impacts the decision of this counsel, I will hear what you have to say."

"After my original search for the Master Bolt reached a dead-end a few hours later, I came back to Olympus. I started over from the throne room and questioned everyone on Olympus when I heard something interesting," Hermes glanced at Ares who had not been fazed yet. "What I heard was from a servant who happened to see Ares speaking to a demigod. The servant thought it was interesting because Ares was acting more nice than usual and had actually smiled when the demigod handed over a bag he was carrying." At those words Ares' eyes shifted.

"I then searched all over for him until Apollo lowered the Sun that night, that was when I found Ares sneaking back just after sunset. Aphrodite showed up shortly after that claiming she had been shopping all day." The gods all turned their focus onto the goddess of Love who was starting to blush and Hephaestus' eyes got a sad look making his stern expression turn grim. "I drew my conclusions from there as I'm sure you all have."

"That's nothing! The demigod was gifting me with an offering, so what? And we have all seen Aphrodite come back from the mortal's shopping malls late at night. This is what you have brought before the counsel, speculation? Do you even have proof, Hermes?" Ares spat putting on a show of righteous anger.

"He may not but I do," Neo said. "I found a certain rat in an alley, after I had a dream that he was consorting with an enemy of Olympus." He summoned the unconscious body of Travis from the space pocket. He made the ropes disappear and woke up the Son of Ares with a quick gesture.

Travis came to in a groggy state, but when he saw where he was and who was with him he was suddenly wide awake. "What's going on?"

"Here's your chance to make things right." Neo told him.

"What, so Travis is the one who stole the Bolt?" Obviously Percy was having a difficult time figuring out Travis' role in everything.

"No you idiot," Travis rolled his eyes at Percy.

"That's enough Travis," Ares snapped at his son.

"No I don't think it is," Athena said to Ares then looked at Travis. "What do you know about the theft of the Master Bolt, child?"

"Nothing," he denied, deciding to follow his father's idea and clam-up.

"Now who's the idiot," Percy quipped childishly, making Neo smirk.

"Still you fish for brains," Travis said giving Percy a challenging look.

"Oh yeah, pig breath?" the younger said as he stepped closer.

"Yeah, 'cause if you were smart you wouldn't be waving the bag in my face," he hinted as he lunged for the bag and pulled it out of Percy's hands.

He tried to make a break for the door but Percy tackled him. They rolled on the ground until Travis hit Percy and the younger boy's head came back onto the floor of the throne room causing him to let go of the older demigod. Travis got up but Percy grabbed his ankle and pulled his leg out from under him.

When Travis fell again the bag was sent across the floor and closer to the door. Percy rose running to get to it. When Travis saw that Percy almost had the bag back he pulled out a collapsed spear and enlarged it while aiming and throwing it at Percy. His reflexes allowed Percy to dodge.

Neo looked at the gods watching everything happening. "Can't you stop them?" he asked.

"It is forbidden, no god can interfere directly in the lives of demigods." Zeus spoke for everyone.

"You may not be able to, but like you said, I'm not a god of Olympus," even though he said it Neo wasn't going to fight Percy's fights for him, but that didn't mean he couldn't help. Neo cast a spell summoning a gushing spout of water that flooded the floor.

"Are you a Son of Poseidon or not!?" Neo yelled to Percy, hoping the other would catch his hint as he cut off the spell.

"You're nothing, especially not a Son of Poseidon," Travis told him as he threw him away from the bag.

When Percy landed in the water he got an idea. Travis turned toward the doors again and Percy forced the water to block him off, baring the Son of Ares from the door. Then he willed the water to wrap around Travis and spin him in circles as if in a whirlpool. Travis tried to hold his breath but the force of the water caused him to let out all of his air.

The watery vortex stopped and Travis landed on the ground coughing up water. Instead of drawing the sword he had gotten from Chiron, Percy turned some of the water into a three pronged spear.

When the eyes of the fighters met Percy said, "Looks like I am a Son of Poseidon." He threw the spear at Travis and with perfect aim the prongs missed his neck but the water weapon hit him around the throat and sent him into the wall knocking him unconscious. Percy walked over grabbed the soggy bag out of a large puddle, pulling out the shield, and then dropped the bag to pull the Lightning Bolt from inside the shields hidden compartment.

"I think you're looking for this," he told Zeus.

"Give me the Bolt, lightning thief," the god said.

"I didn't steal it," he protested.

"He's right, Zeus, Percy wasn't the one who stole it. Luke Son of Hermes stole the Bolt," Neo explained.

Some of the goddess' gasped in surprise and everyone looked at Hermes. "He is telling the truth. Luke was being controlled by Cronus and was forced to steal the Master Bolt."

"Impossible," Zeus exclaimed, "Cronus is locked in Tartarus and cannot escape."

"You can believe that all you want, but if that was true he wouldn't have almost gotten the Bolt. Fortunately he fell for the decoy." Neo told his grandfather.

"What do you mean? He was going for the Master Bolt that Percy had in the Underworld." Annabeth added.

"No that's a fake," Neo admitted surprising the other gods, "He thought it was the real one because it has enough power to create at least three major lightning storms but that's it. I should know, I'm the one who made it."

His explanation caused an uproar among the gods.

"It's true," Hermes said. "Hephaestus can confirm that he found evidence that Aphrodite and Ares had been together the night the bolt went missing."

"It is true. I found Ares' shield and Aphrodite's scarf at the amusement park. Then I set up a trap to catch them when they went back to retrieve their things, but instead these two triggered the trap," He agreed and then nodded to Annabeth and Percy.

Hermes went on, "I knew that Ares would have someone else get his shield back, and that he would probably ask a demigod. So when Percy went on his quest I knew that Ares would contact him. But before Percy left camp, Neo came to me trying to find help to break the control of the spirit possessing Luke. I asked Neo to retrieve the Bolt and replace it with a duplicate so that no one would know where it was. I didn't want Ares' actions to lead to another War."

"Here Percy," Neo summoned the box from the inside of his locket, and handed the box with the real Master bolt to the younger boy.

Percy opened it up and the Master Bolt went flying out and into Zeus' hand.

Hephaestus had come closer to inspect the decoy and gave a hum before saying, "It is a good replica, very good work."

"Thank you, I think it was as good as I could have done in only a few hours" Neo nodded to the crafter. Hephaestus raised a brow in surprise but didn't say anything else.

Neo switched back to his explanation, "I also know that Luke was just a pawn. Travis was in contact with Cronus and they set Luke up. Ares was also willing to let the Bolt fall into the hands of Cronus or Hades by sending it with Percy to the Underworld. It's just an educated guess, but when Ares had lost the Bolt and couldn't get past Hephaestus' trap without getting caught, he decided to lie and say he didn't find it so he could blame it on someone else later. Meaning if it wasn't Percy it would have been someone else. Isn't that right, Ares?" Neo said. The older god just glared, his silence confirming what Neo had said. "And that's why you sent Travis to make sure that Percy stayed at the Lotus Casino until after the Solstice. The only problem was you didn't know that Travis was working for Cronus and that he would take the opportunity to get the Bolt from the Casino, which is when I caught him snooping around."

"Is this true, Ares?" Zeus questioned the War god.

"Yes," he said knowing that admitting it would be better than trying to lie in front of the King of Olympus.

Zeus just looked at his warmongering son in disappointment, "We will speak more of this later." Zeus turned to the others in the room, "The Bolt has been returned, there will be no war, therefore this counsel is dismissed."

"So you will settle your debt later?" Neo questioned mildly.

"What debt do you speak of?"

Hermes realized what his son was talking about and tried to warn him not to say anything, but Neo continued anyway.

"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are owed a debt by the gods of Olympus." Neo walked forward to be seen well, "They took part in a quest to retrieve the Master Bolt and have succeeded."

"The Son of Poseidon took the quest to prove his own innocence, therefore his actions were selfish and should not be rewarded," Zeus said in refusal.

"He took the quest to retrieve his Mother from the Underworld. Percy was the one given the prophecy by the Oracle, and he accepted the quest to retrieve the Bolt, when he could have refused to help the same gods who believed he was the thief. But instead he generously helped the gods while trying to save his Mother." Neo voiced boldly.

"As was said young Perseus Jackson is not the only one who has acted bravely, my brother," Hestia interjected, "Annabeth Chase was on this quest with Poseidon's son, and helped to complete the trials they were given before returning the Lightning Bolt. And you mustn't forget the role that the Son of Hermes has played, if he had not gone alone to retrieve the Bolt then it could have fallen into the hands of our enemies. It is precedent that young heroes be rewarded after they have completed a quest."

"Very well," Zeus knew that tradition called for the heroes to be rewarded and that he could not change that now, "What is it you wish to ask for?"

It was silent as the young demigods, and new god thought of what to ask for. Percy would have asked for his mother to be returned from the Underworld but that was already being taken care of, but then he thought of Grover who had always been there for him.

"Zeus, there's a Satyr, named Grover. He's my best friend and the only reason I was able to get here was because of him. Could you make sure that he gets to keep his job as a Protector?"

Annabeth didn't take long to figure out what she would ask for when she saw her mother standing to the right of Zeus.

"I wish for just one day with my mother," she asked.

Neo thought about everything that had happened and couldn't find anything that he would possible want now, but that's when he remembered something that could be fixed.

"I would like to request a spear that can produce an electric current."

"Such a weapon has been made before. Do you covet it so much that you wish to have your own?" Hephaestus asked.

"No the original weapon was damaged and I wish to commission a new one to replace it. I can already tell that this is just the beginning; Cronus will not just give up now, not when he came so close after so many years. Clarisse will need a new spear for the battles to come."

"It is curious that you would ask for this. I know the demigod you speak of and she most-likely broke her spear while acting less than favorably," Athena said.

"Some people do not act for themselves but for the expectations of others," flashes of the things he had done for the Wizarding World played in his mind for a few seconds, then he saw the way that Clarisse's brothers and sisters had abandoned her after he won their first fight. "I know people who act against their nature because it is the way they are raised. They were taught to think and act like their parents or family. The other children of Ares may act like bullies but some are better than that. Clarisse La Rue has a heart of a hero and I will always treat her as family. I can admit that family is something I don't have a lot of experience with, but I know what family is not, so I will look for the best in all of the demigods of Camp Half-Blood."

Ares was surprised that Neo would care about his daughter like that. Ares did not practice restraint in most things, especially battle, or use logical thinking outside of ideas of war and he was able to see these same traits in his children. He knew his sons and daughters were not the smartest and they could act like the worst of brigands. So it was surprising to meet someone who would use the chance to receive a gift from the gods, to ask for something for one of his children. Neo's action had unknowingly started a change in the god of War that would cause even greater changes in the future.

"Very well, you shall have what you ask for," Zeus told the three youths, "and since the business of this counsel is finished, I call this meeting to an end." Zeus looked at the god of War with a stern countenance, "Ares you shall return here within the hour, I will have decided on your punishment then."

As Zeus started to walk away Poseidon stopped him by grabbing his arm and whispering something into his ear. Zeus seemed to hesitate, wanting to refuse, but whatever Poseidon said made him stop and he just nodded his head. Athena had drawn Annabeth to the side, and Poseidon was heading to speak to his son.

Neo looked around and saw that Hermes was approaching with Hephaestus following him; both of their figures shrank to human proportions when they reached him. Hermes was smiling brightly when he hugged Neo then held him at arm's length searching him for any sign of injury.

"Not bad, kid," Hermes complimented.

"Indeed," Hephaestus said from behind the other god, "You did a very good job."

"Hephaestus?" Hermes said surprised that the other was there.

The blacksmith waved a hand to calm Hermes nerves. "I only wanted to speak to your son for a moment Hermes." That's when Hephaestus gave Neo a very charming smile and nodded his head in a bow, which was quickly returned out of politeness. "I can tell that you are as honest as you are clever, young one. Your selfless request has given me something that I feel I have been missing for some time."

"What is that?" Neo asked.

"Hope…in the future, in mortals, and even in the gods. You will do great things and I would like to offer my help whenever you are in need," Hephaestus' offer was given as he extended his hand toward Neo in friendship. Neo clasped Hephaestus' forearm in the traditional Greek gesture and the god did the same while his eyes shinned with a mix of shock, amusement and pride. When they were done with the embrace Hephaestus still had something to say.

"I will be making the spear for Ares' daughter, and now that you are a god you have the power to bestow a blessing upon it. When I am done crafting it I will have it sent to you, is that well?"

"Yes, thank you."

Hephaestus accepted Neo's gratitude and headed for the door.

"I have to go too Neo, but feel free to text me later. I'll be seeing you," Hermes clapped Neo on the shoulder giving him a wink before he turned and followed Hephaestus out.

It seemed that Percy and Annabeth were done talking to their godly parents so Neo joined them.

Seeing the older boy approach Percy looked straight at him and said, "You know it was my fault that Clarisse's spear was broken."

Neo knew what Percy was trying to say but the demigod still needed to say it, "What's your point?"

"I should have been the one to ask for a new spear," Percy said with resolution.

"Look, I know it can be hard to take responsibility for all of the things you have done and everything you will do, but you also had the responsibility to your friend. If your conscience was telling you to make sure that Grover didn't get in trouble, then you did the right thing. I was in a position to help Clarisse, because I didn't need to ask for anything else. I have real friends and the family I never had, I couldn't ask for more now." Neo draped an arm around Percy's shoulders and lead them back out of the throne room. "So don't get your knickers in a twist, mate, accept that what's done is done and move on.

"The world just got a lot bigger and dangerous for you Percy. You know what's out there now," Neo paused to think. "I remember something that a man named Michael Marks said once; "And maybe remind a few, if ill of us they speak, that we are all that stands, between the monsters and the weak". That's where you are now Percy. You're a demigod and you have the power to protect this world from the monsters in it, but you have to decide if you will accept the responsibility to fight against those monsters. Because once you have accepted that responsibility there is no going back."

That's when Neo lightened the mood by giving the other boy a noggie. When Percy pulled away they smiled at each other. "You still have time to think about it though, so enjoy today's victory."

The three left Olympus with smiles and hearts full of triumph, and Neo was happy to see everyone on the other side of the entrance when they got back. Death congratulated Neo before leaving the living realm for her own. Fenrir had to be woken up from the nap he had taken while the others where in the throne room and they all headed back to Camp Half-Blood. When they arrived Neo took out his tent and set it up outside of the Camp's wards before setting up his own (Jormungandr and Loki also added to the ward, which Neo won't find out about until in the morning). That night at Camp a party was held for Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Neo who was convinced to join by Loki even though the Norse god and his sons had to stay out. Neo made sure to show his new tent mates where everything was located before he left for the celebration.

***Break***

As the party started to wind down Percy noticed that the backpack Ares gave him had suddenly appeared on its own again, "Okay this thing is weirding me out. I swear I dropped it on Olympus."

Neo who was beside them took the bag and a quick glance with his Sight, told him what was going on, "It's an anti-theft charm. If you lose it or would have left it behind, it appears at the next location you stop at for long enough or a designated place like your pocket."

"How do you know that," the genuine amazement on Percy's face made Neo chuckle.

"Did you forget I am a Son of Hecate? She blessed me with her magic so I can tell. There's an easy way and a hard way to cancel it."

"How do you do that?"

"It doesn't look like it has a protection charm on it, which is completely bonkers if you're going to give it to a demigod, so I can just set it on fire and the charm will break." Neo explained calmly.

"What?" Percy was really confused now.

"Fire is used to purify objects. It has the ability to get cleanse and area of both positive and negative energies, and because magic is energy a powerful enough fire spell can work on magical objects."

"But how are you going to light it on fire?"

Neo smirked when he remembered something, "That's easy too, I could cast a drying spell on it, or I could just use this," he said as he pulled out the lighter Remus had given him and set the still damp bag on fire with the magical flame.

"I see that my gift did come in handy," Remus commented as he and Sirius came up to them.

When the bag was mostly consumed by the fire Neo through it in the large bonfire pit, and casually replied, "Yeah it's great, but I would have preferred having you there."

Sirius and Remus just smiled and both gave their sudo-nephew a one-armed hug. "We wish we could have been their too, pup." Sirius told him. "You'll tell us about it tomorrow, right?"

Neo agreed and everyone walked back to their room, or tent in Neo's case. He was wondering if he had found the wrong tent when he walked through the flap. Loki had seemingly taken the time he was gone to add a large fire pit with seating around it in the middle of the main room. Neo found his Uncle sitting with a book next to the fire.

"Where are the others?" he asked as he made his way to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

"I believe they decided to wash up." Loki replied without looking up. His next words were missed by his nephew, "I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

Neo walked in and looked around the magical bathroom that actually resembled a public bathhouse. What Neo saw made him blush, and he had been using a bathroom with other males for years.

Fenrir looked like he was having fun as he danced under a running shower head. He would run his fingers through his hair and then his body would shake like a dog to get the water off. The wolf god's hips would twitch and rotate as he laughed and twirled under the water. He would even snap at it with his grinning mouth showing off his white teeth. A stray thought about how long the other must have been doing that went through Neo's mind, 'It's a good thing the bathroom was enchanted to always have hot water, or he would be a human-shaped pop sickle.'

Jormungandr on the other hand was sitting calmly in the large bathtub using a washcloth to scrub. The water stopped at his chest and was lapping at his pecks as the surface rippled. His hand moved the cloth in a repetitive pattern across his chest and up his neck. His eyes stayed closed as he trailed it down under the water.

Neo just breathed out a sigh. "Why me?"

The other two looked at him with raised brows when they heard him speak. "Neo! How was the party?" Fenrir asked as he walked up to Neo and started to take off his clothes.

"Uhm, it was fine," he replied as he skillfully swatted away the advancing hands, "Stop pawing at me, I can take off my own clothes, thank you!"

The hurt puppy look that Fenrir gave him was almost enough to make him change his mind, almost. Neo decided that he wouldn't put off getting clean, so he was going to join them and started to take his clothes off (by himself much to the chagrin of Fenrir).

Fenrir tried to help Neo wash his back and even offered to wash his hair for him. The attention was a little unnerving but it wasn't too bad. That is until Fenrir, despite Neo's rejections, did so anyway. After Fenrir had washed all of the soap off of the other's body, the wolf became entranced with a drop of water that was running down Neo's back from his hair. The sensation of a warm tongue running up his back had sent a shock up and down Neo's spine. After that he refused to turn his back to Fenrir, but then he made the mistake of turning away from Jormungandr when he slipped into the bath.

The World Serpent moved silently through the water behind the young god. Neo would have jumped out of the water when he felt something touch his neck but the warm steel bands that wrapped around him a second later stopped him. He looked down to see that Jomungandr had wrapped his arms around him while he ran his nose up and down Neo's neck.

"I can still smell dirt," the older god replied simply. Jormungandr seemed to glide through the water again as he brought Neo with him over to the side of the bath he had been sitting on. As he returned to his spot the serpent god reached with one hand over to a clean cloth, while the other held Neo secure but not crushingly tight, and then he took almost an hour cleaning Neo head to toe. The poor younger god was so shocked and embarrassed he couldn't utter a protest.

Neo was bright red when Jormungandr finally let him go. The snake had been determined to scrub all of the dirt off, and ran his nose over Neo's body to make sure he got all of the dirt. Occasionally Jormungandr would open his mouth to taste Neo's skin and make sure that he had done a thorough job.

Loki gave a sympathetic look to Neo when he left the bathroom. Thanks to Fenrir he was fortunately in clean clothes because ,after Jormungandr was threw with his ministrations, Neo was actually too shocked to put them on by himself.

"It's a sign of respect," Loki said abruptly.

"What?"

"Social grooming is a sign of respect and acceptance. They planned it while you were gone. In the end it was really a thank you, but they forget the social boundaries of humans because they don't have human instincts or behavioral patterns. Still you handled it surprisingly well," Loki explained while doing a terrible job of stopping the corners of his mouth from curling into a smirk.

"Oh, so molesting someone translates into "thank you" for your people? That's fantastic, and what do you do when you want to say "I don't like you" just cut their head off?" Neo mumbled dejectedly as he sat down on the opposite couch across the fire from Loki.

"Most of the time yes," seeing the incredulous look on Neo's face the trickster laughed.

The teenage god just looked at his Uncle unable to say anything, because Neo wasn't sure if it was a joke or not. While sitting there Neo heard Fenrir and Jormungandr come out of the bathroom and open the door to one of the bedrooms, after awhile he figured he would turn in for the night too.

When he opened the door to his usual room Neo saw that the bed was larger than usual. Being an enchanted bed it was charmed to accommodate whoever was sleeping on it which meant it could grow or shrink to size. Tonight thought, the bed was larger because it was sized for someone else, two someone's in fact.

"What in the name of everything Holy are you doing in MY BED!" Neo demanded. "You already made taking a shower and bath as nerve racking as possible, now you're not even going to let me sleep in peace? Get out!"

"Calm down," Jormungandr said as he opened his eyes enough to peck through his lashes, "a wolf sleeps in a den with the rest of his pack. Now that my dear little brother has his pack, he is more comfortable this way. Even I can admit it is more pleasurable to sleep next to a warm body. So stop this needless posturing and come to bed."

"Needless! What…You…Ugh," he found it hard to articulate how absolutely absurd he thought this situation was, and in a classic gesture he face palmed. After spending some time to get his thoughts in order Neo just decided that it was too late in the night to bother about now. So with a put upon sigh he got into bed and tried to calm his nerves enough to fall asleep. When both of the older gods wrapped their arms around Neo he was too worked up to get comfortable, but exhaustion finally won in the end and he drifted into unconsciousness.

***Dream-Death's Realm***

Neo knew he was dreaming when he opened his eyes because he didn't remember how he got to Death's realm, but Death and he were sitting in the same seats in the same room as the first time they met. Death was sipping something out of a tea cup. When he didn't smell what it was with his superhuman senses he affirmed that it was a dream.

"Hello, what's going on?" he asked gently.

She looked up at him and smiled, "I thought it was time to explain something that I forgot to tell you and then I was interrupted when I was going to tell you. You finally understand that you're a god now, and I think that it is important to explain something else about being the Master of Death. You are my voice and emissary now and forever, because of that you are completely immortal. That means you will live forever even after your Universe dies. When the last chapter of this Universe comes to a close you will stand there with me and we will both travel on to the next. But I forgot to mention that you have a soul mate, or mates, for lack of a better term."

"What?!"

Death bit her lip to keep her smile from growing too large. Death had been waiting to say this, "Just like Life and I am a pair, somewhere in this Universe is yours. Of course I can't just tell you who, or whom, they are. Sorry I have to be vague on purpose, I can't give everything away," Death's voice was completely giddy and she couldn't hold in the giggle that suddenly sprung out of her mouth.

"So I asked Life for a favor, something to help you and those you love and will come to care for later. Life agreed to allow you this," she held out a small orb that had small glittering gems imbedded in the surface of a black stone. A closer look caused his eyes to grow in surprise. What he thought were gems had moved as he watched, he realized that is was something else entirely, something completely brilliant. In the palm of Death's hand about the size of a golf ball was a solar system!

"What is this?" Neo asked breathless.

"I was hoping you would like to call it Eternia. The Greek gods have Olympus and the Norse gods have Asgard. I even have my own realm, so I wanted you to have one as well. Like Elysium and Valhalla, it is a paradise. You will be the keeper of this realm and you have been given permission by Life and I to take the things you desire from this realm and duplicate them in Eternia. That includes the magical, mythical, mundane and anything you wish. Your family members are gods and the souls of gods do not truly die but they can change. When it is time for the final chapter of this Universe to end, I will have to claim the souls of the gods and offer them a place in my realm so that they may rest until the Universe is born once again. All who you allow into Eternia may stay with you there until that time, and in the next Universe all the gods in Eternia will be known as one Pantheon. You will not have to be alone. I would have offered you a place in my realm, but the realm of the dead is a place where the spirits gradually are wiped of their memories and made new again so that they can be reborn in the next Universe. If your family stayed there they would forget you. This way that will not happen."

"Wow," he gasped out, "that's so much more than I could ask for." The thought of never having to say goodbye forever, was overwhelming. Death was offering Neo something that was truly amazing and he was having difficulty wrapping his head around it. He laughed at something he thought of, "Don't you think it's a little big?"

"You will live long enough to meet many different immortals all over this Universe. I just hope it's big enough," Death joked.

"Here," she said handing him the orb. He cradled it carefully and with reverence. "It won't break Neo, there's no need to be so careful. This is Eternia, a solar system placed in a dimension of its own. It is completely self-sustaining, every planet is habitable, and it will last forever or however long you wish it to. All you have to do is choose who you want to inhabit Eternia. I have already taken the chance to create a home for you on the planet that is similar to Earth, granted it's mostly uninhabited and not polluted. The best part is you already have servants who are working on getting everything ready." Death said excitedly.

"Servants?" Neo wondered.

"Yes, mostly house elves and other worker type creatures like the Heinzelmännchen who once served the city of Cologne, garden fairies, komainu, etc.; who will always be there to maintain everything. Then there are the souls and spirits who have chosen to work for you. I have given them the title of Eternal Guard they are sworn to protect and serve you, and you can call on them at any time. Elric!" She called and a man who stood taller than Neo with a thin frame, his face was fair, a perfect balance of strong and delicate, and utterly beautiful. The new man wore a suit that a butler from the Victorian age would have worn. It was well tailored with no wrinkles (and with the air of superiority the man effortlessly carried around him, Neo wouldn't be surprised if the suit never dared to wrinkle again). The white shirt, black tie, grey vest, and black tailcoat were all immaculate. His tie pin was marked by the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, just like the pin on the lapel of his coat. Dangling from a chain that connected a pocket watch to an outer button on his coat was a metal skull, resembling the one on Neo's ring. But the thing that stood out most was the man's startlingly white hair that shimmered like silk; it was cut short with the hair on the sides of his face left long and sweeping bangs that framed his eyes, while one stubborn strand of hair fell between them. His eyes were beautifully strange; they were almost glowing yellow like two twin Suns.

The man, Elric, Neo remembered, raised his white gloved and long straight-fingered right hand, and placed it over his heart while he tucked his left behind his back and bowed low to Neo briefly. "My Lord," Elric said in a sinful voice, it was deep and soft with an almost purring quality.

"Elric is a guardian spirit, and he came into existence as many of his kind do. He is older than this Universe taken from a previous one. When he died, his dying wish was to watch over and protect those he loved in life. A dying wish is powerful and if one has enough will it can do great things. It caused his soul to transform. Elric gained the power to stand with a mortal partner and share a bond which granted the ability to manifest on the mortal plane so together they could fight against their enemy. After many millennia's of battle he has gained enough power to become a King of Spirits. This allows him to have a corporeal form and full access to his powers while on the mortal plain. I would like to request that you allow him to be your bodyguard in the living realm, and that you put Elric in charge as Commander in Chief of your Eternal Guard. He will serve you with the utmost devotion, following your orders with great loyalty and swiftness, and will always protect you. Elric is highly skilled and will accomplish every task set before him, no matter how impossible it may be, with ease. It is a selfish request on my part, because even though you are immortal, you are not completely indestructible. Your body may be extremely durable and have incredible healing due to being an immortal god, not to mention the fact that you are the son of a god of Healing, but I still fear for your safety. Please accept this, and put my mind at ease," Death's sincere worry was too much to refuse and Neo gave an accepting nod. "On that note, I have another gift I hope you accept," Smiling, Death waved to the space beside Neo.

His eyes widened as Neo saw what Death had directed his attention to. Next to his chair stood a familiar Hellhound with bright ruby colored eyes, Zoul gave a canine smile when he saw Neo look his way.

"_Alpha! Zoul missed you so much!_" the pup said as he jumped onto the immortals lap.

"Zoul…What's going on? I thought you were…," Neo couldn't bring himself to say it. The sight of the dead wolf-like hellhound was still fresh in his mind.

"I saved him," Death said softly. Turning, he saw the kind smile that graced her features. "I was curious when I first saw you two talking on the way to meet Hades. It was previously thought that the Shadow Wolves had become extinct."

"What's a Shadow Wolf?" Neo asked, as he tried, unsuccessfully, to make the large creature get off of him.

Death took a sip of her tea while she brushed an imaginary wrinkle from her dress. The short pause was interrupted when Neo saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned his head.

Elric was bent at the waist to lower himself to Neo's level, and holding out a fine china tea cup on a matching saucer, "Please have some tea while I deal with this over-rambunctious pup, Master." The spirits other hand grabbed Zoul by the scruff and lifted him effortlessly into the air. When Neo took the cup and saucer, Elric straightened and his gaze quickly changed from pleasant to icy as he looked into the eyes of the wolf. "Good puppies do not jump on my Master. Only bad puppies do that and are punished for it. Are you a bad puppy?" Elric may have said this in his usual calm tone but the Killing Intent coming from him made Zoul whimper.

The poor wolf shook his head, "_No, Zoul is good, Zoul promises. Please put Zoul down._"

Elric may not have been able to understand what Zoul said but he interpreted the body language and dropped the pup on the floor.

"Is that better, young Master?"

Neo blinked once before his brain started working properly again, "Yes, thank you."

"Thanks are not necessary, Master. I am merely a spirited servant." Elric gave a small smile, bowed and retreated with graceful steps to stand behind Neo's chair.

"Well that was full of double meaning," Death giggled then went on with the previous conversation. "Shadow Wolves are spirits that were formed from the dark chaos that existed before creation. They look like giant wolves and live mostly in the shadows, thus their name, and there was only one in the beginning. The first Shadow Wolf developed a taste for the evil beings that lurked in the shadows and soon sought them out to fill his growing hunger. He didn't care if they were monsters, souls, spirits, or gods who had fallen into darkness, he consumed them all. In the Ancient days before Man started to expand his domain, the Shadow Wolf ruled this planet's darkest parts. But he only cared to devour the evil souls, so when good men came to live in his territory the Shadow Wolf watched over them and thrived off of the evil that followed them. It wasn't long though until Man grew too numerous, and discovered the means to light even the darkest of places. So the Shadow Wolf chose to divide himself into many, each copy with its own mind but still a part of the whole, and scatter across the world. This choice led to the decline of the Shadow Wolves as slowly they dwindled, and many became few. They were destroyed and hunted by the creatures that had once feared the great Shadow Wolf; even some humans hunted them down thinking that they were evil spirits themselves. I thought that the last of the Shadow Wolves had died centuries ago but it seems you found one. It would make sense if one traveled into the underworld and lived there, because like Shadow Wolves, Hellhounds devour evil souls that live in the Underworld. So I don't blame you for thinking that Zoul was a Hellhound that just looked like a wolf. I took the chance to search the Underworld after you returned to Camp while I was working on cleaning things up. All I know is Zoul is a Shadow Wolf cub which means that he was reborn from a dying Shadow Wolf, much like a Phoenix, and more than likely the last because I couldn't find any trace of others. Hades' attack would have destroyed him but thankfully I was able to use my power and saved him from oblivion."

"Thank you, but I don't get it. Won't he just be going back to the Underworld after this?"

Death shook her head, "No, I may not be so angry with Hades right now, but I don't really trust him with the responsibility of raising a Shadow Wolf."

"Well I don't exactly know how to raise one either," Neo gave Death his typical "duh" look.

"Oh that's easy, just be a companion. All you have to do is give him love and affection. He can hunt his own food, and because you are a trouble magnet he'll probably grow fat eating all of the monsters and evil creatures that you will encounter. Looking at it that way, you're probably the best person for him to have an attachment to," giggling, Death raised her cup and took another sip.

"Thanks," he replied in a flat tone.

"You're welcome!" came the cheery reply, "I will be keeping him here for now so that he can rest some more and recuperate, but Elric will meet you at Camp soon."

Death help up her hand and waved at him. Neo could feel himself waking up. 'Well then, guess it's time to go.'

***Camp Half-Blood***

Neo woke up feeling refreshed, and he realized that his sleep had not been as restless as it usually was even after talking to Death. Fenrir who had rolled over on top of his chest sometime in the night was still asleep but Jormungandr had apparently already woken and left the room.

Neo roused the younger looking god from his sleep while trying to carefully slide out from under Fenrir's weight. The wolf god blinked his eyes a few times and noticed he was face to face with Neo.

"Good morning," Fenrir tried to say around a jaw cracking yawn. While the words were inaudible, Neo understood them after years of listening to the mumbled and yawned greetings of his school peers.

"Good morning," he grumbled tiredly.

Fenrir stretched out across the bed forgetting, or not, the fact that Neo was still on the bed too. When he was done Fenrir jumped from the bed and that's when Neo saw what his brain was too lethargic to comprehend last night, the wolf god had never put on clothes after his shower last night. A look of utter astonishment formed on his face as Neo watched Fenrir brazenly walk out of the room like everything was perfectly fine.

'So this is my life now, huh? Could be worse…and at least it's not boring,' he nodded to himself at his last thought, before he got out of bed to change into jeans and an emerald green t-shirt. He pushed his socked feet into his boots before lacing them and put his jacket on as he joining the others in the main room.

Loki already had breakfast spread out across the dining table. Cereal, French and regular buttered toast, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and an assortment of jams, juice, and milk sat in front of him when he took his seat where a clean plate was ready for him to fill.

Neo took a portion of everything for himself and got up to give part of it as offering to the gods, but Loki who sat next to him stopped him.

"You have been acknowledged as a god so you do not give offerings to the gods now. Formalities are reserved for celebration feasts and political dinners. Only then is it custom for gods to raise their glass in praise of those who provided the bountiful food at the table; as this is not a feast you do not have to do so, you can just eat. Perhaps one day you will be able to experience an Asgardian feast." Loki said with a wistful expression as he imagined the splendor of his home during such occasions, conveniently forgetting the less than pleasant company he often encountered at such gatherings.

The food that Loki made was some of the best Neo had had before. After a round of awed praise from the three youths they all tucked into their food with relish.

With breakfast over Neo returned to the camp and watched as the demigods left to train. Chiron spotted him on Half-Blood Hill and he raised his hand in greeting to the new god, Neo returned the wave. When Chiron's titled in the direction of the training grounds he waved Neo to join him as he headed in that direction.

They meet halfway to the Arena.

"You seem to have accomplished much more than what your quest called for, Neo," Chiron mentioned. "I believe your actions should have had dire consequences if the legends are true. I am surprised you risked the lives of so many."

"I know that what I did was reckless, but I couldn't just look the other way. I don't accept someone being punished for something they didn't do, I never have and I never will. I'm not going to make excuses or say I'm sorry because I'm not."

"I agree," Chiron's words were a surprise to Neo who thought that the centaur would have disagreed with what he did. Chiron stopped and looked Neo in the eye, "Some of the things the gods have done where not just and I have often hoped that a hero would come along to set them right. You didn't act out of spite you did it for all the right reasons and that is why I decided to trust your judgment. I am only here to train you and share my knowledge, in the end you are responsible for your actions and you have to make your own choices. And with everything you accomplished you were still able to complete your quest," Chiron looked away from Neo and when the young god followed his gaze, he saw Luke leading a group in Sword and Shield training.

Luke looked better than he ever had since Neo met him. They hadn't talked much at the party last night so it was a relief to see him now.

Feeling like he was being watched, Luke glanced up and saw Neo. They smiled at each other for a moment and Luke nodded to signal that Neo should join the lesson. When the younger brother held up a finger to signal that he needed a minute Luke nodded and went back to teaching.

"You should tell him," Chiron suggested.

"I will, when I get the chance," but they both knew he probably wouldn't.

"Were do I go from here?" Neo asked aloud.

"The world will always need a Hero, but the choice to answer that call is up to you. So I suggest that you continue your training until you are needed again."

Neo thought about it and chuckled, "Which may be sooner than you think. There was a disturbance in Asgard and I have already decided to help them."

"Then it seems you are at the end of this chapter in your life, and ready to start the next," Chiron said, "I will be there to see you off when you are prepared to leave."

"Thank you." Neo smiled and watched all of the young Heroes and Warriors going about their daily lives around him. Neo didn't know what life had in store for him next but he would be ready. Until then he would wait for the next "chapter" to begin. He stepped forward his jacket and boots changing into armor with Marvápn forming his sword, 'I'll do my best when the time comes, but for now I'll keep training,' he vowed.

_Last Note: Whew! That took me longer to write than normal. Since this is the last chapter, please feel free to comment in your reviews or message me on anything in this story that you liked or disliked. I welcome all reviews and/or anything you feel is necessary for me to know._

_Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I will be open for any suggestions as to who to pair Neo with. And because I haven't created a poll yet, I will take any suggestions form the Marvel Cinematic Universe and/or characters in this story that you would like to pair Neo with. Then I will compile a list from my reviews and PM's (and I will listen to any arguments in favor of your chosen character if you feel that one needs to be made)._

_I feel that I should also mention my current struggle to decide if Neo should be mated to one character or more. Mostly my indecision is based off the fact, when people are in a relationship they have to be compatible, so it will be hard to have Neo with mates who don't get along. I mean think about it this way; if I was to put Neo in a relationship with incompatible people like Nick Fury and Tony Stark, someone would wind-up dead and it probably wouldn't be Fury, just saying._

_And I would like to finish by saying thank you to all of my reviewers, and to everyone who read the story I hope you liked it. Thank you! I look forward to hearing from you in the next story._


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